Not A Monster
by RiddledRose
Summary: April Black is a 26 year old psychiatrist who has lived her life trying to fulfill the needs of those around her. When she is reunited with a certain terror from her past, her life is hurled into a downward spiral of madness that knows no end.  Completed
1. Chapter 1

"Stop!" April Black shouted, struggling to free herself from the clutches of the two men that held her. "Let go of me! I do _not _belong in here! I'm not crazy!"

"No one ever called you crazy," one of them muttered, "but you sure are acting like it."

"If no one thinks I've gone off the deep end, then what am I doing in here? And why the hell are you two dragging me around like some inmate scum?" she snapped.

"That information is classified and will be revealed to you in time," the second man told her. "And if you'll remember correctly, you gave us quite a fight when we arrived to fetch you."

"...Well, excuse me, but I _have _been kidnapped and almost brutally murdered before in my life," April grumbled. "How was I to trust two shady looking so-called 'government agents' when they randomly approached me _at the mall_?"

"...It does sound a little creepy when you put it that way," the first agent murmured to the second. "We could have tried a different, more friendly approach, I suppose..."

They slowed to a stop in front of a pair of steel double doors and released April from their grasp.

"Through here awaits the one who requested your presence," said the second agent. "When you go inside, all of your questions will be answered. All right?"

"Er...Okay..." April stammered, hesitantly pushing one of the doors inward.

She stepped into a large labratory through the doors and stopped in awe. There were devices there for things she didn't dare imagine, shelves lined with gadgets and bottles of peculiar liquids, but the most curious thing of all was the man standing in front of the enormous computer that took up the space of an entire wall.

"Um, excuse me?" April spoke up timidly, "Are you the one I'm supposed to talk to?"

The man whirled around in an exaggerated spin to see her. "So, she really _does_ exist!" he said, speaking in a marvelled tone. He approached April, walking a full circle around her, then stopped in front of her. "You're Dr. April Black?"

"I am," she confirmed, somewhat afraid to say so. "Who are you, may I ask?"

"Professor Membrane," he replied, still examining her from head to toe. "I realize you must be confused as to where you are, Dr. Black. Come, allow me to explain." He strode past April and motioned her to follow him to a small table on the far side of the lab.

"You're the one who sent for me? What is with all the secrecy here? Have I done something?" April asked.

"Not at all. You see, Dr. Black, I am a scientist," Membrane said. "This is the local insane asylum, as you might know, and I am here to conduct a study on new possibilities of the causes of lunacy, as well as a few side projects. I have a particular subject here who speaks of you often. Now, you might imagine that we have several people here who talk passionately about others, real or not, but this case has been a little different. He says that the only person who can treat his condition is you. I figure he must be a former patient of yours."

"Well, it's certainly a possibility," April admitted. "I have had patients who wound up being committed. But why not just call me to confirm this? I gather there must be more to this if you had to speak to me in person and in such clandestine circumstances."

"Yes," he admitted with a sigh. "You see, this patient is certainly insane, but the government considers him to quite possibly be our most dangerous serial killer. That is the reason for all the secrecy. He's a menace to society. We can't take any risk of him having friends on the outside who might try to help him escape here."

A lump formed in April's throat, disabling her to swallow. "A serial killer," she whispered hoarsely.

The scientist eyed her intently. "You know who I am speaking about?"

"I sure hope I don't," she choked, "but I can't help thinking that I know exactly who you are describing..."

Membrane stood up from his seat and moved to a closeby file cabinet. He jerked one of the drawers open and extracted a large folder, leafing through its contents.

"Here it is," he said, coming back to the table. He began to read aloud from the folder:

" 'I think it was sometime in the spring of 1999. Yeah, I could never forget her. She had the prettiest red hair, the color of blood. Since I didn't know her name, I started calling her Mary. You know, Bloody Mary. That's funny, isn't it? Anyway, I held onto her for a while. I don't know why. I originally planned to kill her just I'd killed everybody else, but when she woke up, I was instantly interested in her personality. You know, she bit me on the nose the first time I actually met her! I had her chained to a wall in the basement, and when I tried to check to see if she was awake yet, she totally took me for surprise!...Anyway, she offered to help me because she didn't want to see me harm any more people. I knew I was beyond salvation, but I think she might have proved me wrong somewhat. It was nice having her around. But then I started getting too attached to her for my own good, so I had two options as to what to do with her: I could have killed her, or I could have let her go. It was so strange. Since she had tried so hard to help me, I didn't think it would be proper to just slaughter her like I had the others. Finally, I was able to determine where she lived, and I went to her room to get her. I knocked her out with a little chloroform so she wouldn't know where my house was and took her home. I had to break into the house since it was locked, but I left her on the sofa and went home. I've avoided her like the plague since. I don't like the feelings I get when I'm around her. They frighten me.' "

Membrane looked up from the paper at April. "That was an interview with the patient that took place a little over a month ago. Dr. Black, we did a background check on you before approaching you about this. It was recorded that you were reported as a missing person back in May of 1999. You were gone for nearly two months before you returned home. Your parents and friends all said you refused to discuss what had happened to you and where you had been. You fit the description of the woman the patient speaks so fondly of. So allow me to ask you this next question; Are you the one he called Mary?"

April winced, fighting back tears. "...Yes. I'm Mary," she murmured, her heart racing. "You have Johnny here? He finally was caught?"

Membrane nodded. "I wasn't sure if I should let you see him, but I admit that I am curious as to whether or not you can make progress where the other doctors have not here. Will it be okay for you to meet Mr. C again?"

"Johnny C.," she said with a hollow laugh, "He never would tell me if that was his entire last name or merely an initial. He drove me half crazy, you know. I spent weeks visiting a psychiatrist of my own after he let me go, but he was the one who drove me to this profession. Maybe it's fate that we meet again..."

"So, you'll see him?"

"...Yes. Take me to him, Professor Membrane. I would like very much to speak with him again." April stood up and waited expectantly for Membrane to show her the way to her former tormentor.

The professor looked a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but he started for the doors that April had entered the lab through, motioning for her to follow.

They walked down a long maze of corridors and chambers before coming to a stop in front of a door that stood on its own at the end of a dark hallway.

"We keep him in solitary confinement," Membrane explained. "We don't want to risk him possibly harming the other inmates. His personality is much too volitile for us to risk having him around other people."

April nodded in understanding and took a deep breath before grasping the door handle.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Membrane asked. "It's perfectly fine if you don't think you should. I don't want you to do something that you think you'll regret."

She shook her head. "No, I want this. I want him to see that, despite all he did to me, I'm okay. I want him to know that I don't let what happened back then rule over me now."

Membrane seemed to understand her logic and unlocked the door. "Go on in, then. There will be guards to ensure your safety should he try to harm you."

April released a prolonged breath and jerked open the door. The cell was covered from the ceiling to the floor with a soft pillow-like padding, causing her to stumble as she tried to cross the room. It was also rather dimly lit, which reminded her of the basement in Johnny's house all those years ago. In the corner of the room, April could make out a shadowy figure slumped on the floor, silent and unmoving.

"Johnny?" she croaked, her voice catching in her throat. "Johnny C. ...?"

"That's me," his familiar cold yet gentle voice rasped, as if it hadn't been used in ages. "Who are you?"

"...Dr. Black. I'm a psychiatrist. I've come to help you." April stepped closer to him ever so cautiously, scared that he wouldn't recognize her, terrified that he might snap and attempt to murder or maim her.

"Another psych examiner, huh? How many more of you are they going to pit against me? Do you guys get some kind of laugh out of bugging me to death? What are you going to do, interrogate me about my shitty childhood? Ask me if I was molested at a young age? Quiz me as to whether or not I tormented animals when I was little? What'll it be today, Doc?" he growled.

"I'm not here to interrogate you, Johnny," she whispered. "I was told that none of the other doctors have been able to help you, so I want to try."

"Good luck wih that," he muttered. "No one can help me. None of you have even tried. You think that my condition is incurable. Well, maybe it is, but so far all you shits have done is ask me stupid questions. Nobody really wants to help me. There's only been one, and I doubt you could even find her. And if you could, she wouldn't want to see me. I wouldn't want her to see me, not like this. Not ever, actually..."

"You mean Mary?" April asked quietly. "How do you know she'd never want to see you?"

"You've read my file," Johnny said with a sardonic laugh. "Is that a new psych trick? Talking to the nutjobs about the people that have impacted them the most? Mary wouldn't want to see me because of what I did. I imagine she's put out with me for holding her captive that long, then just dropping her like a stray dog without even saying goodbye."

"...Yeah, I'd imagine she's not happy about that. But maybe she would like very much to meet you again. Maybe seeing you would help her obtain some closure. I would imagine she spent a lot of time wondering about you, whether or not you were okay, if you'd hurt more people or stopped. I'd say those questions torment her often."

April was in front of Johnny now, but he didn't bother to look up at her. "Tell me about your Mary," she prompted gently. "What was she like? Your file said that the emotions you felt around her frightened you."

"First of all, she wasn't 'my Mary,' " Johnny scowled, "and she was a lovely person. A person, yes. It shocked me that a human could be so kind, so forgiving. And of course, my feelings for her scare me. They weaken me. I can't afford to have a soft spot for someone. That's why I let her go. I can't hurt what I don't acknowledge."

"And you think she's the only one who can help you?" April asked.

"I think she's the only one who's willing to _try_," he grumbled. "I made her stare death in the face, and still she never feared me. She still tried to fix me. But I'm too broken for even her to heal...Having her might make living a little more bearable, though."

"Oh, Nny," she murmured, stooping to his side. "Nny, don't say such things. These people here are trying their hardest to help you. They just don't know how or where to begin."

Slowly, he lifted his head and stared forward, his eyes unfocused and blank. "Nny...No one's called me that for ages. How do you know about-"

He cut himself short when he finally saw her. He stared at her, mouth agape, stunned to see her there before him. "M...Mary..." he stammered, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a pathetic whisper.

Her lips turned up in a sad smile at him. "Hello, Johnny."

"They found you? But how...?"

"I don't know, but I came to help as soon as I heard."

April looked him over, frowning at the sight of the straitjacket he'd been forced to wear. "You shouldn't be in here. You aren't meant to be caged any more than I am."

"Heh, no matter. At least I'm away from most of the fucktards out there." He squirmed around in the jacket and laid flat on the floor. "I can't believe they actually when looking for you. If I talked about a cherry Brain Freezy the way I talked about you, do you think they'd bring me one? I have been craving them a lot lately, as I am currently unable to leave and get one for myself."

April felt the knot form again in her throat, choking her, as she gazed at him. He looked twice as pale as he was since they had last met, and appeared to be even thinner than he once was as well. He looked downright sickly, with pasty skin and unkept hair.

She held back the strangest urge to cry for him and reached out to touch his cheek. "You don't look well, Johnny. You look ill."

"Ill?" he repeated with an amused laugh. "Of course, I am! I'm in the looney bin, Mary! Of course, I'm sick! Silly girl."

April winced. It hurt her to see Johnny this way. She didn't want him to be in this prison. She didn't want him to be contained. He needed to be, he should be, but she didn't want it. Why didn't it make her happy to see the man who had nearly ruined her life trapped this way? She knew it ought to feel good to see he'd gotten what he long had coming to him. She was certain that it should overjoy her to know that this maniac was locked up away from the world, where he could no longer harm anyone.

"Johnny, it's not a joke. You've done horrible things, some of which not even the most morbid minds have never dreamed. Please, won't you at least try to cooperate? Didn't you tell me you wanted someone to fix you? Here's your chance." April moved closer to him, trying to see his face. She wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

"Do I not scare you, Mary?" he asked softly. "How is it that you can be so kind to me even after what I did to you?"

"But you didn't exactly do that much, remember?" she pointed out. "You said so yourself all those years ago that all the pain I endured was self inflicted. All you were responsible for was trapping me in your basement. And how can I fear someone that I feel such pain for?"

"You feel pain for me?" Johnny almost laughed. "Mary, Mary, Mary. Don't say such things to me. What you feel is the emotion society has brainwashed you into feeling. Beneath all of that crap that's been beaten into your pretty head, you know you hate me. You know you're glad to see me this way. If you didn't, you'd be as crazy as I am."

"Then I must be insane!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. "I must be as crazy as you, because I do feel pain for you. It does upset me to see you this way. I don't like it, Johnny. I don't like it at all!"

She wiped her face, smearing makeup all over her eyes. The black pigment from her eyeliner and mascara painted dark circles beneath them, making them look sunken and crazed.

Johnny smiled wryly at her and shook his head. "Maybe you are," he murmured. "Maybe you should be down here with me on this floor, confined in one of these fucking annoying jackets and all. Maybe you are as nuts as I am. Besides, a cellmate would be nice. It gets terribly lonely in here, you know. I miss having intelligent conversations with other people, or just having conversations at all."

April was still crying quietly, but she managed to smile at him through her tears. She laid down beside him, leveling her gaze with his.

"What's wrong with me, Nny?" she whispered. "You're right, I _should_ hate you. I_ should_ be glad see to you here...But I'm not. Maybe you won't believe this, but I've found myself actually missing those times I spent at your house, talking with you..."

He laughed. "What isn't wrong with you, Mary?"

She frowned. "That's not funny. I'm serious."

Johnny's smile faded. "Jeez, I was just trying to get you to laugh, but if you're gonna be all stoic like that, then forget it."

April huffed in irritation and sat up. "I came to see you, Nny, because I was happy to learn you were all right. I wasn't particularly thrilled that you were still killing people, but it didn't surprise me. I want to pick up where we left off all those years ago. I got a degree in psychology because of you. I've talked to a lot of patients during this time, and I've gotten some experience under my belt. I think I can save you now, but only if you'll let me."

"Save me?" he snickered. "Mary, if there's one thing you ought to know, it's that I'm far beyond redemption. Don't waste your time trying to do such an impossible thing."

"It's impossible only if you want it to be, Johnny," she said. "If you want to be saved and are willing to let me help, then it's no more impossible than man's ability to breathe. Just work with me, let me help you, and you can get out of here before you know it."

Johnny closed his eyes, thinking, and didn't respond. After a few moments, April began to wonder whether or not he had fallen asleep, but then he opened them again and stared at her.

"I haven't slept in four days, Mary," he whispered. "I'm tired, I feel sick, but I can't sleep. I have nightmares, Mary, terrible nightmares...I dream things the foulest of minds couldn't think of. I don't like it at all, you know. It makes me ill. Just a few hours before you got here, I threw up because I feel so wretched..."

April was totally taken aback by this random bit of information, but then she realized he was telling her this because he was agreeing to let her treat him. She smiled weakly and placed a comforting hand on his cheek. His skin was icy and slightly damp from the cold sweat he had broken out in. It was clear to April that Johnny really was sick, physically as well as emotionally.

"What do you dream about, Nny?" she asked gently. "What is it about the nightmares that scares you so badly that you can't sleep?"

"I dream...about walls," he murmured, "particularly that one in my house. The one I had to keep painting to contain whatever nasty creature was on the other side...I was never allowed to let it get dry. I had to keep it wet, or it would break through..."

"The wall?" April asked. "I don't remember..."

"It was before I met you," Johnny explained. "Why I got chosen with the nasty duty of maintaining it, I'll never know. But it was a terrible burden, Mary. I wasn't curious enough to let the paint dry so I could see whatever that thing was, but it did break loose at one point because I had accidentally died, you see, and wasn't around to feed it. I never saw it, which really sucked, but at least it was gone. I thought that would be the end of it. Guess I was wrong."

"You died?"

"Yes. I sort of accidentally-on-purpose shot myself...It's a long story. Actually, I'm not sure if I dreamed it all or if it really happened. Either way, I ended up losing all my hair when I woke up...The thing was gone after that, and I was left wondering if it was even there at all. Just one more thing to frighten me about sleep. I never know if I'll wake up to find everything I knew was a dream or not. It terrifies me."

April watched him with sorrow as he was struggling that very moment to stay awake. "You need to sleep, Johnny. It might be part of the reason why you're sick. If you get some sleep, not only will your body feel better, but your mind might as well. Please try to sleep."

He shook his head. "No. I never go to sleep voluntarily. I wait until I collapse from exhaustion, which I'm getting better at not doing. I'm not going to sleep, Mary. Forget it."

With a sigh, April grabbed Johnny and pulled him toward her, resting his head on her lap. "I'll be right here, Nny. I'm not going to leave you. You go to sleep, and I'll be here when you wake up."

Johnny looked uncertain of her, his eyes wide with doubt. His body was tense and refused to relax. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and he shivered from a sudden chill.

"...No," he said at long last, "I am _not_ going to sleep. You can't make me."

April hid a smile, smitten with his childlike attitude. She stroked Johnny's hair affectionately. "All right, fine. I can't make you, you're right. But I can help you along."

Johnny shook his head as she continued to run her fingers soothingly through his hair. "Stop it, Mary! I don't want to sleep! Cut it out!"

April ignored his demands and kept trying to put him to sleep. She knew if he could get some rest, he would feel much better.

_His lack of sleep could be a contributing factor to his insanity. The paranoia, irritability, and weak immune system are all effects of sleep deprivation. If I could observe him after a good sleep, I'll be able to determine how much of this mental condition is him and how much is a result of this ridiculous insomnia, _she thought.

She looked down at Johnny to find that he had drifted off to sleep. A weak smile turned upon her mouth.

Asleep, Johnny looked gentle, as though he could never hurt even a fly. It made April wonder if he really did enjoy doing the things he used to, or if he did it because it was what his current mentality dictated for him to do. He looked sweet, innocent, and helpless, like a child.

_Really, that's all he is,_ April told herself, _He's a child on the inside. So brutal, yet so sweet. If he were any other man, that would be just disturbing, but...I can't deny that he __**is**__ adorable..._

Just then, the door to the cell opened, and Professor Membrane stepped inside.

"You got him to sleep," he marvelled. "The doctors here usually have to restrain and inject him with drugs just to get him to relax, and he just fell out on your lap. I must say, I'm shocked."

April frowned at the professor disapprovingly. "He might be sick, and he might be the country's most dangerous killer, but he is still a human being like anyone else. He just needs someone to be near him and understand him. He needs companionship, not drugs. He needs someone to be with him, to give him attention, to tell him everything is going to be okay. I'm not saying I can cure him on those things alone, but I can guarentee that if you allow me to stay with him like this, you'll see a lot of improvement in him. I can tell he wants to get better, Professor, but he needs guidance. I can give that to him."

Membrane crossed his arms thoughtfully for a moment or two before finally turning his attention back to her. "I have to say, he's taken quite a shine to you, Dr. Black, but your procedure seems very unprofessional. You say you can treat him through companionship and understanding, and it just may work, but won't that mean that he will develop a heavy dependence on you? You can't keep doing this forever. You'll have to find a way to put some distance between you two."

She shook her head. "No, Professor, that's why this treatment is perfect for him. He _will_ more than likely form some kind of deep bond with me, and I'm okay with that. You see, there's a peculiar mutual feeling between Johnny and me. We need each other in order to function properly. When I was a hostage in his house, this bond between us was born. Since we've been seperated, the two of us have never been the same. Now that we're reunited, we're whole once more, and we can fix one another. Do you understand?"

Membrane laughed. "I do understand. That peculiar mutual feeling you speak of is what most people call 'love,' Dr. Black."

April's eyes widened with shock at the scientist's blatant explanation. "Don't be ridiculous! It's hardly love, Professor. It's just a...bond. There's nothing romantic about it."

"Romantic?" Membrane chuckled, "My girl, who ever said your relationship was romantic? There are many other kinds of love that do not involve romance. You should know that."

April blushed a deep scarlet, realizing she had jumped the gun and blurted out something she shouldn't have. She swallowed the lump in her throat and laughed nervously. "O-Of course, I knew that. I just meant...Um..."

He laughed again at her, amused by her flustered attempts to cover for her slip of the tongue. "You remind me very much of my son, Dr. Black, getting ahead of yourself in things only to end up hurting your own ego. But your secret is safe with me...Though I can't help but be a little concerned about your taste..." He glanced at Johnny.

April stroked the sleeping man's hair, admiring him silently. "You know, Professor, had life treated Johnny a little more kindly, he wouldn't be here right now. He would be living somewhere else, maybe happily married and starting a family. He never expressed an interest in having children of his own, but I remember him talking very fondly about a little boy who lived next door to his house quite often. I think he likes kids. I think he wants to have a life like that. He's just tired of people always hurting him. Seems like he couldn't keep friends because they kept doing him wrong."

"...You think that's what caused his mental condition to deteriorate into what it has become now?" Membrane asked, raising a disbelieving eyebrow.

She shook her head. "Not at all. I believe it didn't help, but his mind was probably very weak to begin with. I don't know a lot about what his life was like before I met him, but I do think something awful happened to him a long time ago. He doesn't remember a lot about his childhood, which leads me to wonder if he possibly had a traumatic experience when he was young. Insanity rarely comes from nowhere, Professor. People usually have a rational reason for the loss of their minds, like a bad early life or witnessing an unspeakable horror. There are literally hundreds of things I could guess happened to this man, but he seems so angry with people in general. He's just one of those guys who can't get a break in life, and he couldn't take it. Instead of becoming introverted and awkward, he reacted to the bad treatment violently."

Membrane nodded in understanding before releasing a prolonged breath and changing the subject. "Well, at any rate, Dr. Black, you do realize that you cannot stay here in this cell with him, don't you?"

"He'll be terribly upset if he wakes up and sees I'm gone, Professor," April told him with a sly grin. "You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

Membrane was taken aback for a moment, surprised by her reply. "...For a psychiatrist, Dr. Black, I have to say you are rather...unethical. Do forgive me for being so blunt."

She giggled mischievously. "I know, I don't fit the stereotype for your typical psych doctor, but I went into this profession for only one reason." Her gaze fell once again to Johnny.

"After meeting him, I was never the same person I was before. I realized that he wasn't the only one in the world who had such problems, and it made me want to help everyone I could. That's why I went to school and got a degree for this line of work. Originally, I was going to be a nurse, but your priorities change after an experience like that which Nny had given me...I also hoped I would see him again one day. If he was still as sick as he was when we last met, then I wanted to be able to give him some real help. I thank you for giving me such an oppertunity, Professor."

"Well...You're welcome, Dr. Black," Membrane stammered. "If you insist on staying the remainder of the night here in this cell, then I'll leave you now. There are still guards outside if anything should go awry. I trust you and your treatment, however strange it might be. I wish you luck, Doctor."

With that, the professor stepped again out of the padded chamber, leaving April alone with Johnny once more.

She sighed with relief and looked down at the slumbering man on her lap. The peaceful look on Johnny's face remained, but he looked terribly uncomfortable in his straightjacket. April wished she could loosen the straps at least, to allow him a little more comfort, but she was pushing her luck as it was by staying in the isolation cell with him.

She leaned back against the wall behind her and nestled her head on the padding. "Good night...Johnny..." she murmured before drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Insane Are People, Too**

April woke up with a start when she felt the warmth on her lap disappear. She forced her eyes to open and wiped the sleep away from them.

Johnny had rolled off of her lap and into the floor, wriggling around in his straitjacket like a caterpillar. He growled with frustration, muttering to himself under his breath heatedly. He rolled to the door and began kicking it vigorously with the flats of his feet.

"HEY, LET ME OUT! I GOTTA PEE, DAMMIT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

April couldn't help it. Something about watching Johnny scream like a five-year-old was just too funny to ignore. She burst into hysterical laughter, clutching her stomach tightly.

Johnny stopped kicking the door and manuvered his head to see her. From his position on the floor, he had to look at her upside down, which made April giggle even more. "Sorry if I woke you up. I just can't hold it anymore!"

"How long have you had to go?" she managed to choke out through her laughter.

"About two hours. You were sleeping so well that I didn't want to wake you, but I have to go so damn bad!" Johnny squirmed uncomfortably and slammed his feet onto the door again. "COME ON, ALREADY! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME OUT THERE, YOU JACKASSES!"

"Two hours?" April was mortified. "Johnny, I could have always gone back to sleep. You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, but I was afraid that, once they saw I was awake, they'd make you leave," he replied between kicks. "They only let you stay because they knew I'd get pissed if you left before I woke up, right? I know how they work. They'll do anything to prevent keeping us nuts from having a fit. I'm a little surprised that they've gone as far as they have to keep me happy, though. They must be pretty scared of me."

He laid still for a moment, staring at April from his upside-down position, and sighed. "I hate it here, you know that? I feel sometimes like a wild zoo animal than human...And not in a good way, either. They lock me up, they keep me away from the world, the most human contact I've had since I got here was when those goddamned 'doctors' would interrogate me. That scientist douche just studies me, like I'm some sort of lab rat, never really talking to me, you know? God, that's irritating. I'm so sick of it all, Mary. I want to get outta here. I'm not saying I like the outside world, but I'd prefer it to this hellhole."

April crawled over to him, hovering over his body with her face directly above his. "That's why I'm here," she whispered to him gently, "I'm going to make sure you get better and that you get out of here, Nny. I don't want you to worry about any of it, okay? This will all be over before you know it."

Just then, the doorknob clicked as someone on the other side unlocked it. April sat back from Johnny, her face almost as red as her hair. Johnny struggled to sit up as the guard stood in the doorway, frowning at him.

"Was that tantrum necessary, Mr. C.?" the guard asked irritably.

"Was _ignoring _me necessary? Had I not screamed my head off, I'd have had to piss myself," Johnny retorted, "I don't think you'd have liked very much to have had to clean a mess like that, right?"

The guard jerked him up by the front of his straitjacket, glaring at him maliciously. "One of these days, C., you'll get the beating a scumbag like yourself deserves."

"Scumbag like _myself_?" Johnny cocked an eyebrow at the much larger man. "Begging your pardon, but you're not that great of a person, either. I used to decorate my walls with the skin of shits like you."

The guard didn't seem to take very kindly to this, and he slammed Johnny against the wall. "You forget who makes the rules in this place, little man. Perhaps I ought to teach you a lesson."

"HA! That's real damn funny," Johnny cackled, "Teach a lesson to the homicidal maniac! You are hilarious, man."

The guard curled his lip in a snarl, pressing harder against the serial killer's chest until Johnny could scarcely breathe.

"That's enough!" April snapped, furious that this man would dare touch her patient in such a harsh way. "You have no right to treat him like that. You're lucky I don't tell Professor Membrane immediately."

The guard glanced at her, then slowly lowered Johnny to the floor. "Go take your piss, C., and I don't wanna hear another word from you for the next four hours."

"Yes, _sir_," Johnny snickered sarcastically. As he walked away, he looked at April over his shoulder and winked devilishly at her.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling. He was too funny to ignore.

Once Johnny was gone, April fell backward into the padding of the isoloation cell, gazing at the ceiling above her.

_I wonder how I'll go about this. I do have family who'll worry for me...And then there's-_

"Dr. Black?" Professor Membrane's voice asked.

April sat up to see him standing in the doorway, holding her cell phone.

"Your phone was ringing, so I answered it for you. There's a fellow on the line who calls himself Nick. He says he needs to speak with you immediately," Membrane explained.

April groaned and flopped onto her back again. She had completely forgotten about Nick.

Nicholas, the only child of the prestigous Leer family, was April's self-proclaimed boyfriend. They had met in April's third year of college, and he instantly took a liking to her. April didn't care much for him, but she went out with him because he wasn't too bad looking and he had paid the rest of her way through school. She figured if he was willing to pay out so much money just for her sake, she could at least entertain his fancy of her for a while.

April took the phone from Membrane and thanked him unenthusiastically, then put the reciever to her ear. "Hello?"

"April, babe!" Nick's voice cried, "Thank God you're okay! Where are you? I've called you thirteen times since yesterday, and you haven't answered me once! Who was that guy that I just talked to? What's going on?"

April rolled her eyes, groaning inaudibly. "Nick, calm down. I've been at the asylum all night-"

"THE ASYLUM?" Nick shrieked, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING THERE?"

"If you'd chill out and let me explain, you might find out a little sooner," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm here because my presence was requested. It turns out that...a former patient of mine...was committed recently, and they just wanted me to step in and help with his treatment. The man you spoke to was Professor Membrane, the one who asked me to come in the first place."

"You could have called me," Nick sounded most displeased, his voice haughty and thick with irritation. "You know I worry about you, baby."

April swallowed the urge to vomit as she replied, "I know, and I'm sorry. It was an emergency, though, Nick. It couldn't be helped. My patient is very sick."

"I doubt it was important enough for you to forget calling me," he muttered. "But anyway, dear, are we still on for our date tonight? Remember, we're going to dinner with my parents. Your mother and Mr. Cross were supposed to come as well, if you'll recall. It's going to be a very eventful evening."

She wiped her forehead irritably and leaned against the wall. "I don't know, Nick. He really needs me right now. He's not at all well."

"April, he's in the asylum. There are dozens of other doctors there who can substitute for you tonight."

"You don't understand. They called me in for a reason, Nick. He won't respond to the other doctors. They need me here to get him to cooperate."

"Cooperate? He's crazy, April! Why do you think he's in the nuthouse? Stop wasting time on the hopeless things and come have fun with everyone tonight. I feel like I never see you anymore, honey, I miss you!"

April gagged. "Please, enough with the petnames. And how dare you tell me to neglect my job and call my patients hopeless! How do you expect me to ignore those who need me so much? I can't do that and you know it."

"...You're right, sweetie," Nick sighed, disregarding her request to stop the petnames, "it's wrong of me to expect you to ignore your duties. All I meant was take a day off for once to spend time with the people who love you. I'm not taking no for an answer, dear."

She released a prolonged annoyed breath. "...Fine, Nick, but I can only spend two hours with you, all right? My patient is my priority right now, and I want to be able to keep as close an eye on him as possible."

"Fine, fine. I'll pick you up at six, sweetheart," he gushed, blowing kisses into the phone. "Love ya, babe."

Withholding another urge to spew vomit out of every opening in her body, April managed to choke back, "Yeah, okay, bye," before hanging up.

Professor Membrane chuckled in amusement at her. "Who was that, Dr. Black? He seemed awfully worried about you."

April curled her lip in disgust. "Nicholas Leer, my...erm...well, I guess he's my boyfriend..."

"You _guess_?" Membrane sounded interested, "Do explain that one, if you don't mind."

"Eh, we met in college," she told him with a shrug, "He paid the rest of my way in med school as well as the loans I had taken out, so I suppose I felt obligated to go out with him..."

"Tsk, tsk," Membrane shook his head and laughed. "What a naughty girl you are, Dr. Black, leading an unsuspecting fellow on like that."

"I know, I'm terrible," April muttered. "Believe me, I want more than anything to break up with him. He's so damn annoying! Always wanting to talk to me, can't keep his hands off of me...UGH!" She shuddered with disdain and tried to shake the sickened feeling off.

"He sounds rather enamored with you, no?" the professor stated. "Am I to understand that Mr. C. is totally unaware of your relationship with this man?"

"It's hardly a relationship," April said, "And no, Johnny doesn't know about it. I haven't seen the need to tell him, but what would it matter anyway?"

"It would matter because you have feelings for Mr. C.," Membrane told her. "And it could be a wrong assumption, but judging by how fond he seems to be of you, I would say that Mr. C. feels quite the same way."

"I'm not staying with Nick," she whispered. "And if Johnny found out I was dating someone right now, especially someone I feel obligated to date instead of wanting to date him, he would go completely berserk. The last thing he needs is to hear that, especially when I'm about to end it."

She heaved a sigh and turned to face Membrane. "Professor, I was supposed to go out dinner with Nick and our parents tonight. I don't plan on staying long, so do you think you and everyone else can handle Johnny?"

"Well, I suppose," the scientist murmured thoughtfully. "You don't think it will upset him if you left?"

"He won't be happy, and he might pout for a while over it, but I think he'll be all right. I promise, it will only be for a couple of hours. If I ask him to, I'm sure he'll behave for you... Listen to me, you'd think I was talking about a child."

April laughed to herself as she realized how she was speaking about Johnny. Membrane laughed, too, agreeing with her thoughts.

"Well, I can't stop you from going, Dr. Black, even if I wanted to. But you had better hurry while you're gone. He'll only behave for so long. You know, he has this paranoia that we all strive to make him miserable and all..." Membrane said.

She nodded. "I know. And I have a couple of requests, too. While I'm gone, please don't inject Johnny with anymore drugs. And also, please exchange the guard outside the door. He's not too kind to Nny, you know. Had I not been here earlier, he would have tried to smash Johnny to bits."

Membrane shook his head, "That's Jean for you. He's always shoving the inmates around. I warned him several times before that if he couldn't treat the patients nicely, I would fire him. Of course, I really would hate to do that, as he is the best guard here (hence why he is posted at Mr. C's chamber)."

"Well, I don't appreciate him doing such things," April said. "The people here are sick. He doesn't have any compassion for them."

The scientist nodded in agreement. "You're right, but not everyone can understand that. There's a fine line between insanity and poor impulse control, and people like that can't always determine where that line is. They know that not everyone here is as crazy as they've claimed to be, but it's hard to see who they are. I mean, really, you can't expect everybody in this place to be insane, but unless we obtain solid proof of that, then we have to treat them as if they are. I don't agree with it, but that's our country's law."

"True," April murmured, "and I don't agree with that, either. But Johnny is not one of those who fakes his illness. He knows that there's something wrong with him, but that's not the same as sanity."

"Hardly," Membrane murmured, "but I digress. I'll have a talk with Jean when he comes back. He took Mr. C. to the restroom, correct?

She nodded. "I hope he hasn't torn Nny apart. He wouldn't stand a chance if Johnny weren't in that jacket, but I'm afraid he'll use that as an advantage."

The professor shook his head. "Don't you worry about it, Dr. Black, I'll make sure Mr. C. is safe." He turned and headed out of the room, leaving April alone again.

The redhead sighed and leaned against the padded wall, a feeling of despair overwhelming her. It wasn't going to be easy to break up with Nick. Or rather, breaking up would be easy, but it would be a totally different story to get him completely out of her life.

_And if he finds out I'm dumping him for a homicidal maniac, I don't know what he'll do, _she thought._ But I don't love Nick, and it's cruel to allow him to waste himself on me, so..._

She had to admit, Nick was definitely a more logical choice than Johnny as a life partner. He was rich, so she wouldn't have to work another day in her life, shoving his irritating mannerisms aside, he was quite sane, and he was willing to give the moon to her on a string.

Johnny, on the other hand...Not so financially secure, completely crazy, and a convicted serial killer; not such a good match for level-headed April.

_But I can't be as level-headed as I once believed,_ she told herself, _If I were, I would just stay with Nick and be reasonably content, but I don't want that. I'll be risking my very life to be with Nny, but it just seems completely worth it..._

"Mary," Johnny's voice said, breaking her thoughts.

"Hm?" April glanced over to see him entering the room, still constricted in his straitjacket. He was frowning at her, which made her anxious. "What's wrong, Nny?"

"Membrane says you're leaving. How come? Where're you going? Are you coming back? You're not going to just leave me here to rot, are y-?" Johnny cut himslef off as April wrapped her arms around him. "Mary?"

"Calm down, Johnny," she said softly, "You're worrying over nothing. I'll come back. How could you think that I would just abandon you like that? I promised to be there for you."

"But you're not gonna be here," he sulked, "Where are you going that's so important that you've gotta leave me here alone with all those goddamned sadistic doctors?"

She smiled weakly. "I'm supposed to have dinner with my parents and some friends. It's really important that I go. I haven't seen my parents in weeks...And I'm sure my mother will want to know why I haven't called her in the past twenty-four hours. She probably thinks I'm lying dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Let her think that," Johnny said with a pout. "I don't want to be in this hellhole all by myself. I've been alone long enough, Mary. It's just not fair for you to leave me like this."

"Nny," April placed her hands steadily on his shoulders, "you know I care about you, and you know I'm not going to just abandon you. I need you to trust me, okay? Consider this part of your therapy. While I'm gone, you'll have time to yourself. Think about why you're here, Johnny. You have to prove to these people that you can live amongst other human beings peacably. It'll be even more convincing if you can act civil without me. Please, Nny?"

He heaved a disheartened sigh and looked her square in the eye. "Since you asked, Mary, and you've raised such a good point, I guess I'll comply with this for the time being. But I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it," she told him quietly, "But you do have to do it. Anyway, I'm not leaving just yet. I want to talk to you about something first."

She sat down on the padded floor, motioning for him to join her.

Johnny settled beside her, looking rather bemused. "What about?"

"Your house, Nny," April replied. "You said you had to...paint your wall...to keep a monster from barging into the outside world. How...How did you figure that...?"

"Don't remember," Johnny muttered, "I just knew that was what I had to do. It was why I started killing people. I didn't do it because I wanted to, I did it becuase I had to. But after a while, even after that thing was gone, I continued to kill, because it just made me feel better. And hey, I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty fun. I never got caught. I never got punished. Why would I stop? I gave people what they deserved, and I had no intention of quitting. Had I not wound up in here, Mary, I can tell you that I'd still be out there, doing all of that stuff. I know I'm sick, and I know I'm insane. If I weren't, why was I having conversations with objects that should have been silent and inanimate?"

"Does anyone else know about the thing in your house, Nny?"

"Yeah, but I think they're all dead..." Johnny laughed nervously. "I don't really know, to tell the truth. I was kinda dying on my living room floor at the time..."

"That's something else I want to talk about," April said. "You have always gone about experiencing death. Why don't you tell me about that?"

He shrugged. "I'd been feeling pretty suicidal lately, so I took a robotic arm and attached a gun to it. I then wired that mechanism to my telephone, so when it rang and I answered it, it would set off the gun. I didn't really have the balls to pull the trigger myself...Kinda wussy, huh?"

April was horrified by how he made light of this harrowing conversation, but she managed to keep her composure. "So, you set off the mechanism, then?"

"I guess I did. See, I was having a fight with the Doughboys over just that, and then the phone rang. I was actually pretty shocked someone would call me, because no one calls me, and I answered it. Next thing I know, I'm on the floor in a puddle of my own blood. I had this gaping hole in my forehead just oozing that shit, you know? I don't know if it hurt or not, I was too numb to tell. I laid there for what felt like forever. I remember getting bored, so I starting drawing little bloody doodles on the floor and beating myself at tic-tak-toe..." Johnny trailed off as he found himself lost in thought.

April bit her lip in uncertainty. "Then what happened?" she asked quietly.

Johnny snapped out of his trance and turned his attention back to her. "Then? Oh, then I woke up in Heaven. Man, what a DUMP! It was like a junkyard! And then there was this barfing angel and some crazy tour lady who wanted to rape me-OH! And I met God! Jeez, let me tell you something, Mary, that guy is NOT what everyone cracks him up to be. He was short and fat and all he wanted to do was sleep all day! LAZY! No wonder the world is just a hellhole full of shit! And then I found out that I could make people's heads explode and it was so damn fun that I just couldn't stop! But that made the Heaven people mad so they kicked me out and sent me to Hell..."

April gaped at him, astonished by his description of Heaven. God was a fat, rude little man? Heaven looked like a dump? Angels threw up? It wasn't quite what she had been brought up to believe, and it stunned her.

"So, um..." April cleared her throat nervously, "What was Hell like, Johnny?"

"Eh, a lot like this world, only instead of it being mostly assholes, it was nothing BUT assholes," he muttered, "Satan tried to terrify me to death by disguising himself as a cheerleader." He shuddered at the thought. "I HATE those pom-pom waving minions of death!"

"..." It was all April could do to not show how amused she was with that last statement.

"And then when I got sent back, all my hair fell out...It sucks being bald, but what was I gonna do about it? I'm still not sure if I dreamed the whole thing and shaved it all off while I was asleep, but when I woke up, I felt much better about everything. The voices in my head had finally stopped. Everything was so quiet after that. It was just me, nothing but me. I had nothing to do and no one to answer to. It felt so good to be free at last from all that shit I'd been putting up with. I could finally do whatever I wanted!"

A smile spread across Johnny's face. "Oh, I still wanted to kill all right, and I did, as you know. It was great! But then I started feeling that wretched emptiness again, started getting depressed. I tried to cut off all my ties to anyone I knew. I even left for a little holiday to get my mind straight. Nothing worked. I was still sick, still insane. It was a little better than before, but I wanted more than that. If I couldn't be normal and content, then I just wanted to be numb. I wanted to be cold and unfeeling. I didn't want to have affection for anything or anyone. If I really had gone to Heaven and Hell, death wasn't a very good option, so I couldn't very well try to kill myself again. It's not like I didn't try to make something of my life, Mary, but killing was all I knew. When I saw someone who was content with their life, it would make me sick to my stomach with envy. It wasn't fair. Why could everyone else be so happy without effort while I struggled and struggled for it to no avail? I wanted to show them it was all an illusion. That life is pain and nothing more. I wanted them to see my misery, feel my torment. At least that allieviated the pain for a little while..."

In a twisted way, April understood this logic. She could see how Johnny would turn to violence as a way to cope with his pain. It was upsetting to see how much he was hurting, but that was why she was here. She was going to heal him if it killed her.

"I would often think," Johnny spoke up again, breaking her thoughts, "how nice it would be to just fade away. Not die...Just disappear. I want silence. I want nothing. I want to drift in a void, unfeeling and cold. Unable to live, unable to die. Just floating in silence."

"Do you still hear voices, Nny?"

"Sometimes. They can get so loud, so angry...I argue with them a lot."

April felt her heart ache with pain as she listened to Johnny speak. _What hasn't he been through, honestly? I wonder if I can really help him..._

"Dr. Black," Professor Membrane cracked the cell door open and peeked into the room, "I just thought you would like to know it's after five o' clock. When were you supposed to meet your friends?"

"Shit!" April swore as she jumped to her feet. "They're picking me up at six!" She heaved a sigh and turned back to Johnny. "I'll be back soon, Nny, okay? Promise you'll behave?"

"Promise you'll come back?" he asked, pouting.

She smiled. "Of course."

"Fine, I'll be good. But my limit is three hours. You'd better be back before then."

April's smile widened. "All right then. See you later."

She hugged him tightly and headed out of the chamber. As she stepped out, she stopped in front of Membrane.

"You know," she said, "I can't thank you enough for bringing me here. You've brought a new meaning into my life."

He grinned at her, though she couldn't see it because of the ridiculously high collar on his lab coat. "You're very welcome, Dr. Black. I'm looking forward to seeing the product of your treatment of Mr. C.. I was skeptical at first, but now that I've seen the way he opens himself up to you, I have faith that you'll be able to cure him."

April nodded to him and started on her way again. "I should be back by nine, Professor Membrane. Don't let Johnny walk all over you, okay?"

Membrane laughed. "I'll try not to allow it, Doctor."

She smiled. _Yes, I think things are going to go quite well after all..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Gives You Hell**

April squirmed uncomfortably in her black satin cocktail dress as she sat in the passenger seat of Nick's Corvette. Her nerves on edge, she fidgeted with her Victorian-style key pendant to try to calm herself down. She knew what was waiting for her at their destination. It was going to be so embarrassing.

April shut her eyes tightly and swallowed hard to contain the sense of nausea washing over her. _I am going to be sick...!_

"You look stressed, darling," Nick remarked, glancing over at her. He smiled reassuringly. "What's the problem, sweetie?"

"Oh, nothing...I've just been thinking about a lot of things," she murmured.

"Like what?"

"It's nothing important, Nick, really. Just work."

"April, honey, it's always work with you. When will you try to take a load off and enjoy the good things in life?" Nick said with a laugh. "I don't want you to stress yourself out so much, darling. It's not good for you."

April frowned. "How can you say such a thing? I enjoy my work. I take pride in what I do. It might be stressful, but that lets me know that I haven't let myself fall under the spell of money like so many others in my profession do. The stress tells me that I still care about my patients and not their money. Isn't that a sign of a good doctor?"

"It is," Nick agreed, "but you just wait. It won't be much longer, my dear, and then you won't have to work so hard anymore."

April felt like throwing up. This was exactly was she had feared.

"Ah, here we are," Nick beamed, swinging the Corvette into the parking lot of a fancy looking restaurant. A valet approached the vehicle and Nick opened the driver's door to get out. He circled the car and opened April's door for her, then tossed the key to the valet. "Take care of my baby, understand?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Leer," the valet replied before carefully driving the Corvette away.

Nick turned to April, not noticing the look of muted horror on her face, and offered his arm to her. "Shall we be going inside, love?"

In something of a stupor, April looped her arm around his and allowed him to guide her into the building. The bile in her stomach churned like waves on a restless ocean, making her sense of nausea even worse. Her head felt as though it were pumped full of helium, light and on the verge of exploding. Her nerves were so frayed that her right eye twitched uncontrollably, making her look like she was suffering from some sort of awful spasm.

Nick, ignorant in his bliss, prattled on about something having to do with the fashion line his mother owned. He either honestly couldn't tell how bothered his companion was, or he didn't care. He was rather self-centered, so either was possible.

"Oh, look, I see our parents," Nick exclaimed excitedly, breaking April's thoughts. "And they brought your little sister along!"

April snapped her her head up to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, sitting next to her stepfather, Sean Cross, was her stepsister, Xin.

April wanted to scream. It was one thing to embarrass her in front of her mother and stepfather, but to do so in front of the only sibling she'd ever known was just brutal.

"Hello, everyone!" Nick greeted them cheerfully, "I'm glad you all could make it tonight. Mrs. Cross, you look lovely! Did you cut your hair?"

April's mother blushed a deep magenta, flattered by his complimient. "Why, yes, Nick, how nice of you to notice."

April hid a smile when she saw Xin roll her eyes in disgust. If there was one person who could see Nick for the irritant he was, it was definitely Xin Cross.

"And Xin, you look like a little princess," Nick gushed, gesturing to the black and red pinstriped dress the girl wore.

Xin glanced up at him and forced a smile. "Thanks, Nick. You look like a princess tonight, too."

Sean Cross choked on his water, Xin's retort catching him off guard and amusing him.

Charlotte nudged her husband and gave him a look that demanded he reprimand his daughter.

Sean cleared his throat and elbowed Xin lightly. "Behave yourself," he muttered to her.

She smirked. "Oh, I will, Dad. I'll be as have as I can."

He grinned at her and turned his attention to April and Nick. "Nick, do you mind if I have a quick word with April?"

April smiled weakly. She loved Sean as dearly as a girl could love her biological father, but she knew he wasn't enjoying the current situation.

Nick seemed a little bemused, but he nodded. "Of course, Mr. Cross. Take as long as you need." He stepped aside to allow Sean to take April's arm and lead her away.

"What's all this about, Dad?" April asked when they were out of earshot of their entourage.

"April, I don't think I'll have to spell it out for you," Sean murmured. "You know why we're all here tonight, don't you?"

She shuddered. "Of course, I do."

"Then let me say this," her stepfather drew a deep breath, "April, you might not be my flesh and blood, but despite that, I have always seen you as my own daughter. You know that. And I want to see you live the life you want and be as happy as you can possibly be. This is a big event in your life. If you handle it the wrong way, you could wind up miserable. Do you understand what I mean?"

April nodded gravely. "I understand, Dad."

"Do you love Nick?" he asked.

"_No_. No, I do not," she answered immediately.

"Then you know what you're going to have to do. You can't keep up this facade any longer. You shouldn't have led him on for this long." Sean looked uncomfortable with this conversation. "I know you feel like you owe Nick, but what he did for you should not be repayed with your happiness. If he really loves you, April, then he will understand how you feel and will be more than happy to oblige to your choice."

April felt tears sting her eyes, and she hugged her stepfather tightly. "Thanks, Dad. You've really helped me out."

"Well, that's why I'm here, I guess," he said with a nervous laugh. "I'll be there to support you, though, and so will Xin. I don't know if your mother will be so happy about all this, but I'm sure she'll side with you as well, because your content means more to her than how rich your spouse is."

She smiled. "I know, because she really likes Nick. But he's so annoying, Dad..."

Sean laughed again, this time more heartily. "I know, honey. To be honest, I always thought so, too."

"And so does Xin," April giggled.

"And so does Xin," he repeated, chuckling. "Yes, don't forget her, April. Who you marry affects her majorly, too. She loves you to death, you know. She won't allow just anyone to be with you."

She grinned. "I know. I love her, too. If he can't get along with my little sister, then he's probably no good, right?"

"Exactly. So, are you ready to get back over there and face the music?"

"Oh...I guess..." she murmured. "Thank you, Dad."

"No problem," Sean said. "I'm just glad I was able to talk to you about this before you made a huge mistake.

April took his arm, and together they headed back to their table. She settled next to Nick, her stomach churning.

They ordered their meals, and while they all ate, conversation was light and lacking of depth. The atmosphere felt hot and heavy to April, but maybe that was because she was feeling uneasy.

"Well, that was quite lovely, wasn't it?" Nick said cheerfully when everyone was finished eating, "Now, if I could have everyone's attention, I would like to make an announcement."

He got up from his seat and knelt on one knee before April. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

April felt the sickly sensation in her stomach worsen on sight of the box, knowing what was inside. She gulped back the lump in her throat. _God, why, oh WHY, is this happening to me?_

"April, my darling," Nick began, his entire face lit up with excitement, "our time together has been nothing short of heavenly. I can't stand spending one more moment apart from you, love, so I must ask you this. April Black, will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Nicholas Leer?"

April's stomach heaved once the title reached her ears. April Leer. That name was just awful, almost as awful as the thought of spending the rest of her life with this irritating man kneeling in front of her.

"Oh, Nick, I..." she drew in a deep breath, "I...I'm going to be sick!"

She leaped from her chair and dodged her proposer, making a break for the women's restroom.

Xin giggled as she watched her stepsister flee from the table. "Guess that's a solid 'no', right?"

"Xin, behave yourself!" Charlotte hissed.

"Goddammit..." April gasped, pulling back from the toilet. Her throat was burning from the bile she had just vomited, and her stomach had yet to settle. She wiped her mouth with a piece of toilet paper, relieved she had managed to keep her dress and hair clean.

A knock came from the other side of the stall, and she glanced over to see her mother's feet beneath the door.

"April? Sweetheart, are you all right in there?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine..." April rasped, her voice hoarse from the violent vomiting she had just endured.

"Honey, you don't sound fine. Are you sick?"

"More than you know," April muttered, "I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"

Charlotte didn't reply, but she lingered by the door, waiting for her daughter to come out.

April trembled with weakness, her nerves frayed, her thoughts scattered. At the moment, she just wanted to go back to the asylum and be with Johnny. She knew he could make her feel better. It was easier to deal with the pressures of her life when she was around him. He made the pain numb.

She checked the clock on her cell phone. It was only 7:30. She winced.

"April," Charlotte's voice spoke up again, "are you-"

"Mom, I'll come out when I'm ready," April interrupted. "I just...I just need a few minutes, okay?"

Charlotte sighed. "Honey, I know how you feel right now. Believe me, when your father asked me to marry him, I got this way, too...I mean, I didn't throw up, but I thought I was going to. Hell, I didn't even know if I wanted to get married. In fact, your dad asked me to marry him three times before I said yes. But I was so glad I did. Those few years were some of the best of my life, before..."

"Don't say it," April choked, her eyes filling with tears, "Don't talk about Daddy. Don't remind me of all the hell we went through, Mom. I'm not over it, and I never will be, so don't throw it up in my face, especially at a time like this."

"...I'm sorry," Charlotte whispered. "...Are you sure I can't come in?"

"No," April said harshly, "you can't."

"Honey, you're going to have to go back out there. You don't want Nick to think that you don't want to marry him, do you?" her mother asked gently.

"That's EXACTLY what I want him to think!" she blurted, "I don't want to marry him, Mom. I don't love him!"

"...What...?" The shock in Charlotte's voice annoyed her daughter fiercely.

April was glowering now. "I don't love Nick, Mom. I never have. The only reason why I've seen him this long is because I felt indebted to him for paying my way through school. I never thought he'd ask me to marry him!"

"April, you two have been dating for four years! You're both twenty-six years old. That's plenty of time and plenty old enough to get married. Where would you get the idea that he wouldn't ask you to marry him?" Charlotte demanded. There was anger in her voice, as well as disappointment.

"Don't get pissy with me, Mom," she snapped, "I've tried to break up with him before, but I always would feel guilty and couldn't do it. There's no way in hell I could marry someone like that. He disrespects my work, he treats me more like a pet than a person, and let's face it, he is a total tool! How can you expect me to spend my life with a complete _prick_?"

Charlotte became quiet again as she listened to her daughter's ranting. When April finally wound down, she started to speak again.

"Well, if that's how you felt this entire time, it was very wrong of you to lead him on the way you have. How could you do that to a person, April? Would you like to be done that way?"

"It's not like I didn't make it obvious," April fumed. "I wasn't affectionate at all with him, and there's no way I ever told him I loved him. But he was just too deluded to see it. You should have been there this one time-My God, I still want to kill him-when he tried to come onto me. I went crazy! The thought of him touching me is almost enough to get me committed to the intensive care center at the hospital!"

"Well, then I suppose you should go and tell him how you really feel. You owe him at least that, don't you think?" Charlotte asked stiffly.

"Why are you so pissed off, huh? Is it YOUR life that's being fucked up?" April sneered. "Get off of my goddamn case, Mom, I don't need to hear all this shit from YOU."

"Watch your mouth-"

"I am twenty-fucking-six years old, Mother, I will speak how I damn well please!"

April burst through the door and glared at Charlotte. "God foribid I be happy for once, right? Well, fuck that shit! I'll tell Nick what I think, then I'm getting the hell out of here. I don't know what I was thinking anyway, coming here tonight. I've got a very sick patient who needs my help desperately right now! I can't believe that I left him like this! I'm a terrible doctor!"

She flung her purse over her shoulder and stormed toward the door.

Her mother caught her arm and pulled her back. "That's something else we need to discuss," she said, "Nick told us you spent last night at the asylum, April. Are you that engrossed with your job that you can't allow yourself to be away from it for at least six hours?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," April growled. "I care about my patients and I do all I can to help them. This one happens to be extremely sick, Mom, and he needs me more than anyone ever has. I shouldn't even be here. I feel like I'm lying down on the job."

She jerked away from Charlotte. "I don't know what it is with everyone horning in on my life. I've been living in my own house, paying my own bills, doing my own shopping and all that other shit for a long time now. What makes you think you have the right to tell me what to do and who to be? You don't! You might be my mother, but you are no longer my dictator. Get used to it."

And with those final words, she exited the restroom, leaving a baffled Charlotte behind her. She made her way back to the table and stopped in front of Nick.

"There you are!" he sighed with relief. "Are you all right, darling? You gave me a scare. Are you ill?"

April stood in thought for a moment, then nodded her head. "Yes, I am, Nick. I'm afraid I have a terrible illness that only time can cure."

"What...What does that mean...?" he asked nervously. "What do you mean by that, love?"

"I mean," she continued pensively, "that I am suffering a lot of troubles right now."

She tilted his chin up so he would look at her. "Listen, Nick, I appreciate all you've done for me in these past few years, but you see, I fear that I don't love you the way you love me. I've tried to tell you so many times, but I just couldn't. Now, you ask me to marry you, to spend the remainder of my life with you. I just can't do that."

Nick's eyes grew wide for a moment, then narrowed dangerously. "There's someone else, isn't there? You've been avoiding me a lot lately, April, don't think I've not noticed. What's wrong with me? Why don't you love me anymore?"

" 'Anymore?' " she repeated. "No, Nick, it's not 'anymore.' It's more like I never did..."

"Wha...? April! Then why...?"

"You honestly thought I did?" she asked. "I went out with you because I was grateful for you paying my way through school. Don't think I didn't try to love you. I really did. But in the end, I just couldn't make myself. And no, there has never been anyone else. I might not love you, but I was never unfaithful."

Nick looked devastated. "Why would you wait so long to tell me, April? Why would you lead me on like this?"

"I'm so sorry. I really am," April murmured. "I did try to tell you, but then I would feel so bad...I don't ask for your forgiveness, just your understanding."

"April...I can't describe how much it hurts me to hear you say all this," Nick said. "And I can't believe that you haven't once returned my feelings for you. I wish you would have told me."

"How was I supposed to?" she asked. "I mean, you paid my way through school, you would spend all this money on me even though I asked for nothing...I mean, come on, Nick, I felt like I owed you. But I didn't have that kind of money, so I couldn't pay you back."

"April, I didn't spend money on you to make you feel indebted to me. I did it because I liked you. I did it because we were friends. If you didn't love me, I would have expected you to say so, not lead me on for four years."

Nick gently pushed a stray whisp of hair from April's face. "I love you, April, and I know I always will. But if I'm not what you need to be happy, then you shouldn't settle for less. I apologize for making you feel like you had to be with me."

She sighed. "And I'm sorry I lied to you for so long...Take care of yourself, Nick."

"You too," he whispered.

April didn't waste any more time there. She stepped around Nick and walked away, refusing to look back even once. She knew she was probably making a bad decision in choosing Johnny over Nick, but she knew it was also the only choice that made sense.

She haled a taxi, and as she climbed inside, she saw her family watching her from the entrance of the restaurant. Her mother's face was a mixture of remorse and fury, but April could have cared less. Xin was smiling and waving goodbye while shouting, "Bye, Sis! I'll call you!" She really had a way of making April smile. And then there was Sean. Her stepfather was watching her leave with a satisfied look on his face, beaming with pride, as if to say, "You handled it very well. I'm proud of you, April."

April threw up her hand in a heartfelt farewell before the taxi began to drive away. She felt refreshed, unbound. She knew this was the beginning of a new chapter in her life.

_I only hope,_ she thought, _that with this new start comes some better memories..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Voices**

"FUCK YOU!" Johnny shouted from within his isolated cell. "Didn't I tell you to stop speaking to me? SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"What's going on?" April demanded as she met Professor Membrane. "Why is he screaming like that? Who's in there with him?"

"No one," Membrane answered quietly, "but about an hour or so after you left, he started talking to himself. The conversation grew more and more heated until it came to this. No one dares go in there, so we all decided we would wait for you. After all, you were insistent upon us not administering medication to him, so we weren't sure what you would have us do."

April unlocked the cell's door and slipped into the padded room, locking herself in with Johnny.

"Nny, what's the matter? Who are you talking to?" she asked gently, approaching him with a fair amount of caution.

Johnny silenced himself abruptly and rolled over to see her towering above him. "Mary...You're here! I told you she'd come back, you jackasses!"

"Nny, who are you shouting at?" she asked again, determined for an answer.

"You don't see them?" he asked, his voice shrinking to a pouty childlike tone.

April glanced over her shoulder in the direction he nodded his head. Needless to say, there was no one there.

"...I don't see anyone, Johnny," she said softly.

He frowned. "They're there!" he cried. "They're right there, and they're mocking me! They think my pain is funny. They think it's hilarious to see me lying here in this pathetic state. WELL, FUCK YOU! IF IT WEREN'T FOR THIS GODDAMN JACKET, I'D CRACK BOTH OF YOUR DISGUSTING STYROFOAM NECKS!"

April drew in a deep breath. _I'm gone for only a few hours to come back and find him reduced to this? Or is he always this way without me around?_

"They kept saying you'd left me," Johnny muttered. "They kept telling me that you weren't coming back. They said you hated me, that you didn't want to help me because you thought I was a lost cause like everyone else said. They told me I would get old and rot in here because I'm too far gone to be redeemed."

"Who are 'they', Johnny?" April asked gently.

"The Doughboys," he growled, glaring at the same corner of the room as he had been before. "I thought those little fuckers were gone, along with that thing that was in my wall, but here they are again."

He stared up at April now, his eyes large and fierce. "They've been bugging me since I got here. They say things that bother me. Especially when you showed up, Mary. They go on and on about how you hate me. They tell me that you're only in this for the money."

"Money?" April was taken aback. "...Well, I guess I AM getting paid for this...But the money is irrelevant, Nny! I would still do this even, if I wasn't getting paid, because I-" She cut herself short, then heaved a sigh, "...Because I care about you."

Johnny blinked, gawking innocently at her, before a sly grin spread across his face. "Meaning I'm right and those styrofoam fucks are wrong?"

"Exactly." She smiled back at him.

"So, you're going to stay here with me until I'm better, right?"

"If you mean come here every day to see you, then yes."

"What do you mean 'come here'? You're not going to stay?" Johnny's face fell, disappointment taking over his expression.

April winced as she felt a pang of guilt tug at her heartstrings. "I can't spend every waking moment here, Nny. I still have a practice to take care of, and I have other patients to see. The only reason I was able to stay here last night was because I had today off. I'm not off again until Tuesday."

"So get someone else to see the other ones. I'll throw a fit if you don't." Johnny puckered his lips into a childish pout, his wide obsidian eyes gazing at April so sadly.

April's face reddened to a deep magenta, and she had to look away from him. "Nny, don't start acting like a toddler, please. I would love to spend every waking minute with you, but I do have other priorities. It's selfish of you to expect me to devote all of my time to you and not my other patients."

He shrugged. "I'm criminally insane, Mary. That's plenty of an excuse to expect just that from you."

She laughed. After all, he was just so cute sometimes, how could she not? "Johnny, I don't care how far your mind has gone, it's still unfair to make me feel guilty about doing my job."

"But is it working?" he asked, resuming his devious smirk.

She released a prolonged, overwhelmed breath. "...Unfortunately, yes."

"Hee hee," Johnny snickered in satisfaction, "Does that mean I'm getting my way?"

April shook her head and laughed, at a total loss for words. "I'll see what I can do. But do NOT get your hopes up! You brat."

Johnny just grinned, which let her know she had made his day.

She sighed and knelt beside him. "So, am I to understand you didn't behave while I was gone?"

"I behaved!" he cried, apalled that she had even suggested he had not. "I was fine until those assholes showed up! And they kept irritating me and talking and they refused to SHUT UP...! I can only put up with so much shit, you know, and my limit had shrunk due to the fact you'd left me here alone with these freaks...Where did you go, anyway?"

April shifted uncomfortably in her place. "I told you, I met my parents and some friends for dinner."

"Did you have fun?"

"I guess."

"Then why do you look so stressed out?"

She blushed. "I don't look stressed!"

"How would you know? You don't have a mirror!" he said. "What's the matter with you?"

April was quiet for a few moments before turning to Johnny again. She grinned deviously. "What ISN'T wrong with me?" she giggled.

He laughed as well, genuinely, for the first time in what had to have been years. Despite being locked away in an asylum and being forced to don a garment as irritating as his straitjacket, he was-dare he admit it-happy. And it felt wonderful. Scary, but oh-so-wonderful...

Johnny's laughter died away as he focused again on April. Something was happening at that moment, something that made him feel a strange mixture of fear and bliss. He felt like his stomach was knotting itself into a pretzel-shape, like his heart was suffering an epileptic fit. There had only been a few times when he had experienced this feeling, and he winced at the memories. He would have a perfect friendship with a girl, and then this annoying emotion would interfere. It was because of this feeling that so many of his friendships had been ruined. It was because of this emotion that he had separated himself from April in the first place.

April stopped laughing when she noticed the serious look on Johnny's face. "Something wrong, Nny?"

"Uhh...Nothing. I'm okay," he lied.

She cocked an eyebrow at him and smiled devilishly. "Who's stressed now?"

"Oh, leave me alone," he grumbled, rolling on his side to face the direction opposite of her. "I AM stressed, Mary. The life of a committed mass murderer isn't as easy as it sounds."

"What?" April was startled by his sudden hostility. "What is that supposed to mean? I didn't imply that."

"I know. I just meant that I'm sick of this," Johnny sighed. "I want out of here. I want out of this room, I want out of this place, and I WANT OUT OF THIS FUCKING JACKET!"

He writhed in the straitjacket, desperately trying to separate himself from its confines. "I hate it all, Mary! I hate that I can't think straight. I hate that I can't be normal. I hate that fear I harbor of my own emotions! I can't do anything without absolutely loathing it! It makes me SICK! FUCK!"

"Johnny, calm down!" April cried, watching him twist his skinny, limber body in ways she once thought to be humanly impossible. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

Johnny stopped and laid still on the floor. His back was still facing April, so she couldn't see his face. "Hurt myself?" he rasped. "That's funny, Mary. I don't feel any pain other than that annoying throbbing in my skull. I could slice open anywhere on my body, but it wouldn't hurt. I could shatter my spine, have my organs implode on themselves, and gouge out my eyes without feeling so much as that small tingling sensation that comes before the sting of a papercut. Hurt myself. What a joke."

April stared at him, overwhelmed with confusion. "...Jesus Christ. I was only gone for a few hours and come back to see you broken like this. What the hell happened to you while I was gone to put you in such a masochistic state? Was it because of those things you saw?"

"Things I SEE," he corrected, gesturing with his head in the direction he had shown her before. "They're not going anywhere, Mary. They'll continue to stay here, feeding on my thoughts, fueling my madness and my rage. No medication is going to make that go away."

"Who said anything about medication...?"

Before she had even finished her question, April knew the answer. "Did they give you drugs again?"

"They were talking about it. I could hear them outside the door. Membrane wouldn't let them."

April sighed. relieved to know that Membrane was trusting her enough to carry out her requests.

"I'm never getting out of here, am I?" Johnny asked. "That sucks, you know? Had I known I was going to be stuck here, I would've said my goodbyes to Squee."

"...'Squee'...?"

"The little kid that lives next door to me. He's a cute kid. You know, shy, well-mannered, nervous. He's a good kid, but he lets himself get pushed around too much. Doesn't stick up for himself. His parents are complete assholes, though. Kid would be better off on the streets for all those two fucktards are worth." Johnny rolled onto his back and fixed his gaze on the ceiling.

"And his name is Squee?" April asked curiously.

"No, that's his nickname. His real name is Todd something..." Johnny trailed off, his voice hinting that he no longer cared for the current conversation.

"Todd..." April murmured to herself. "Xin knows a boy named Todd. Todd Casil. He's in her English class, I think."

"That's Squee," Johnny muttered.

April released an audible exhasperated groan, and poked him in the side with her foot. "Cheer up, will you? Please?"

"Get me out of this goddamn jacket and I'll turn a dozen fuckin' cartwheels for you," he growled.

"You know I can't do that."

"...Fuck."

April giggled. She knew Johnny was really upset, but his melodramatic ways were so amusing. She moved closer to him and embraced him in a hug. "It's going to be okay, Nny. Really. Everything will be fine. As long as I'm breathing, I'll try my hardest to help you get out of here."

"...Mary, as wonderful as that sounds, and as much as I appreciate that you're trying to help, I find this position to be rather uncomfortable..." Johnny squirmed in her arms, trying to get free.

April blushed and let him go. "Sorry. You just seemed like you needed it."

He sighed. "Let's face it, Mary, I'm never getting out of here. I'll be stuck here until the day I kick it."

"Stop being so negative. I told you, I'll do all I can. But if you ultimately don't get out of here, it'll be because you didn't do all you had to. Half of the work belongs to you, Nny. If you don't behave and listen to what I tell you, you probably won't get to leave. But if you allow me to treat you and are willing to cooperate, you'll be out of here before you know it. Just give it some time." April stretched out next to him on the floor. "I think the official treament can start in the morning. Is that okay?"

"I guess...But Mary, where did you go tonight? Seriously, I wanna know," he replied.

"You're nosey, Johnny," she laughed. "I went to dinner with my parents and some friends. How many times do I have to say that?"

"If it was just that, you wouldn't have looked so disturbed when you came back here," he pointed out, "So what happened?"

"Nothing," she insisted, "absolutely-"

April stopped talking when she saw the look Johnny was giving her. His eyes were narrowed, scrutinizing her, trying to read her thoughts. It was almost unnerving.

"Nny, could you maybe please stop that...?"

"You're lying, Mary. Those 'friends' you were with were really special, weren't they? You weren't with just any sort of friend," he observed, his voice icy.

"Wha...?" April's mouth dropped agape in shock. "What makes you think that?"

"You met them AND your parents? I might not have ever gotten that far in a relationship, but I know what that means," Johnny said coldly. "So, who is this guy? How long have you been with him?"

"What the fuck, Nny?" April cried. "Why would it matter? I'm not 'with' him. Not anymore..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dumped him. He was annoying as hell. It's a good thing you never got to meet him," she said with a smirk. "But anyway, I did meet him with our families tonight. Ugh, I would have sooner swallowed a bullet had I the choice. He embarrassed me in front of everyone in that entire fucking restaurant!"

Johnny's expression was somewhere between quiet rage or confusion as he stared at her. "You mean...he asked you to marry him, right?"

April nodded and gagged. "I actually threw up at the thought of getting married, especially to him. I just don't have the interest in settling down right now."

She fell backward and joined Johnny on the soft floor. "But enough about that. If you were feeling any jealousy, you can forget it. You can hog me all to yourself now."

His face flushed a deep scarlet as he jerked up. "What the hell do you mean by THAT?" he cried. "Who said anything about jealousy? And stop that flirty...whatever the hell it is you're doing. It freaks me the fuck out!"

April giggled. "Sorry. Just messing with you."

She stood up again and stretched her legs. "It's getting late. I should head home for the night."

"Why can't you stay here again?" he asked irritably. "I hate sleeping by myself in here. It'll be even worse since I started seeing things."

April sighed and ran her fingers through her hair indecisively. "You know I can't, Johnny. I would love to, but I can't."

Johnny growled in frustration and turned over on his side. "All right, fine. If I must deal with it all on my own, then I will, dammit. But do one thing for me when you leave, Mary."

She raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Okay..."

"Go to my house tonight. There's a key under the welcome mat. Once you're inside, go into my room and find my diary. It's under one of those floorboards, I think. And watch out for the flesh eating roaches. Their bites tend to sting worse than hell." Johnny winced at the thought.

April gawked at him in a stupor. "You want me to go to your house? Are there any...things...in there that I should be aware of...?"

"Not really. Just the roaches...and Reverend Meat. Whatever you do, do NOT talk to that guy, okay? He's just so...annoying. And he likes to chatter about stupid things like slavery and mind control and all that shit. Just ignore him if you see him," Johnny said.

"Uh-huh..." April managed to croak. "So, what does this 'Reverend Meat' look like...?"

"One of those 1950's burger boy things," he replied nonchalantly, squirming in his jacket. "I can't stress how important it is that you ignore him."

"Right...Okay! Well, then, I'll see you tomorrow, Nny," she said before heading to the door. "You want me to bring the diary here tomorrow, then?"

"No, I want you to keep it," he corrected. "Read it. I think it might help you understand some things."

"For your treatment, you mean?"

"...Yeah. Sure. We can say that."

Johnny nodded his head at her in place of waving goodbye.

April smiled weakly at him and shut the door behind her. She leaned against it for a few moments, her thoughts wild and scattered.

"His house, eh, Dr. Black?" a voice asked suddenly.

April yelped and jumped in surprise. "Oh...Professor, you scared me!" she gasped.

Membrane chuckled and handed her a small folded piece of paper. "This is Mr. C.'s address. Be careful when you enter that house. The top floor is fine, but descending into the basement may get you killed."

April slipped the paper into her purse and sighed. "He's so sick, Professor. I don't even know where to begin the healing process."

"Hmm..." Membrane stroked his chin as he stood pensively before her. "Well, Dr. Black, perhaps that is why he told you to search up this diary of his. Once you read it, maybe you'll have a clearer view of things."

She nodded. "You're probably right. I'll just have to do my best, I suppose."

She slung her purse over her shoulder and shook Membrane's hand. "I'll be over as soon as I can tomorrow, Professor. Until then..." she drew in a deep breath, "I want you to give Johnny some behavioral medication. Tell him I said to take it if he wants to get better. But please try to refrain from using tranquilizers on him just to make him calm down. I don't like the unnecessary use of meds if it can be helped."

"I'll see to it that your instructions are followed, Doctor," Membrane promised, patting her shoulder. "I realize how difficult this all is for you."

April nodded and told the professor goodbye. Once she had caught a taxi, she stared down at the note Membrane had given her.

Her stomach sommersaulted as she read the address. She handed the paper to the driver. "This address, please. Get me there as soon as you can."

April sunk back into her seat as the vehicle began driving down the road.

_God, help me, _she thought anxiously, _I don't know if I really want to go back to that house..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Not Your Average Fairytale**

_KA-CHINK! _the lock squealed as April turned the key inside it. She swung the door open, and it groaned raucously as it inched inward.

April stepped gingerly through the doorway and stared into the house. Silence dominated the atmosphere, making it eerie and ominous. The air was cold and still. It enveloped April as she moved deeper inside the house. A chill rushed up her spine, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up straight.

She tucked the key into her purse and, out of habit, tried to turn on a light. She was shocked when a sudden illumination flickered on above her, brightening up the entire room.

_That's strange. There shouldn't be any power. No one's paid the bill for months..._

She peeked in every room until she found Johnny's bedroom. Aside from the large vanity dresser and a dingy full-sized bed, the room was completely empty. Nailed to the wall were two Pillsbury Doughboys, each painted to look evil and twisted.

April stared at the pair, mortified. "So, you two must be the ones Nny was telling me about...No wonder he has nightmares with a pair like you hanging around."

She walked further into the room and began stepping hard on each one of the floorboards, searching for the loose one where Johnny's diary was kept.

"Well, well, look at this," a male's voice rasped suddenly.

April jumped and whirled around. No one was there. Her eyes darted about the room, searching, but she saw nobody. She tried to shrug it off and continued to search for the diary.

"A friend of Johnny's, are you? No, wait...Red hair. You're that Mary chick!"

April spun around again, still unable to see anyone. She inched toward Johnny's dresser and slid open a drawer. Sure enough, there was a knife tucked within, and she pulled it out.

"Who's there?" she demanded. "C'mon, don't be a coward! Where are you?"

"Oh, put that thing away. You look quite stupid holding it like that," the voice sighed.

"I'll put it away when I'm good and ready," April snapped. "Where are you? Tell me, dammit!"

"Down here. By the door," it answered with a bored tone.

April dropped her gaze to the floor. The only thing she could see was a small burger boy figure sitting next to the doorway. She gulped.

"One of those 1950's plastic burger boy things," Johnny's voice echoed in her mind.

April stood her ground, gripping the knife in her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. "You...You're Reverend Meat, aren't you?"

"Hee hee, how'd ya guess? Did Johnny tell you about me?" he chuckled sinisterly.

April felt another chill shoot up her back, causing her to shiver. She shook her head and lowered the knife. "Ha ha, I must be really tired," she said with a nervous laugh, "I'm talking to inanimate objects! As soon as I find that diary, I'm going home and crawling in bed."

She turned and stomped another floorboard.

"Why don't you try that one on the left side of the bed? Near the headboard?" Meat asked.

April glanced at him over her shoulder, only to find that he had somehow moved from the doorway to a mere three feet or so behind her. "What the hell?"

"How's this for 'inanimate'?" Meat asked with a dark laugh.

"You...You moved!" she gasped. "How did you get there...?"

"Just like you got where you are," he replied. "I walked."

He waddled toward her on the floor, the plastic mold of his body scraping against the wood with a hideous squealing sound.

April's stomach turned itself over as she raised the knife. "D-Don't come any closer to me! What the hell are you?"

Meat heaved an annoyed sigh. "Just a friend of Nny's. You wouldn't remember me, because each time we met, you were knocked out cold from a heavy dose of chloroform. Hee hee, those were some amusing moments."

"What are you talking about? Or rather, why the hell am I having this conversation with what shouldn't be conversing at all?" April was wrestling the urge to panic as though her very life depended on it.

"Isn't it obvious?" Meat asked. "You've caught the sickness. You're aware now. You can see everything that other humans cannot."

"Sickness...?" The word tumbled clumsily from April's lips. "You mean...sick like Nny? Damn! I knew I was losing it, but I didn't think I was this far gone...!"

"Yes, it's quite sad, really," the plastic figure murmured, waddling beside her. "It seems everyone who comes in contact with Nny either dies or loses their minds. How woeful it is that you're one of the latter."

"Huh. Sorry to break it to you, little guy, but my mental health was spiraling out of control long before Johnny came into the picture," she muttered, circling the bed and hitting the floorboard Meat had suggested. It popped out of place, revealing a small cavity in the floor beneath it.

April reached into the hole and pulled out a black notebook labeled "Die-ary" with creepy lettering. "Well, that's that."

She glanced down at Reverend Meat and sighed. "You know, Nny told me to ignore you if you started talking to me, but it seems all you do is point out the obvious. I'm sure I'm dreaming all this somehow. I'll go home and go to bed, and when I wake up, I'll find out that this is all a bizarre illusion. Good night to you, sir!"

She stepped around the burger boy and headed to the door. As she started to leave the bedroom, she stopped and slowly turned to face Meat again. "...Actually, in case I'm not dreaming all this and it turns out to be a terrifying reality, maybe you could enlighten me on some of the things in Johnny's past...?"

Meat's already large grin widened. "Why, it would be my pleasure! Have a seat, Miss Mary. You're in for a long story."

April cautiously approached him again and settled herself on the floor, eager to hear the coming string of past events.

"You should know that all of this took place a year or so before you and Johnny met," Meat informed, "so you will not be familiar with a lot of the things I'm about to tell you."

"I'm sure I've heard at least some of it," she said. "You see, Nny has told me about quite a few things-that monster that was behind his wall, those doughboys over there..." She trailed off and glanced nervously at the Doughboys mounted to the wall.

"Don't you mind them," he told her. "What you see on the wall are just two corpses of Johnny's torment. The spirits inhabiting them are long gone now. They moved on to feed upon someone else's madness."

"...You're wrong!" April blurted. "Nny says he can still see them! He says they appear to him and say things that bother him!"

Reverend Meat shook his head, "Mere illusions-those are imaginary manifestations of his fears. Nothing else has tormented Johnny so much, so when he is frightened or disturbed by something, it comes to him in the form of what has pained him the most. He isn't like most people, who can just feel fear. His mind both feels it and sees it. He didn't use to be so unstable. I suppose by now he's given into the sickness completely."

"You mean insanity?" April asked.

"Not just insanity, but the disease he contracted the moment he moved into this house. IT was already here when he found it. IT is what lured him here in the first place. Insanity rarely spawns out of thin air. There's almost always an explanation behind it," he said. "Very slowly, IT began to seize control of his thoughts. IT degenerated his mind into the tiny, malleable thing it is now. Johnny was once a man of great promise. He would make art-wonderful pieces, not like that Noodle shit he took up some time ago. Oh, yes, he was something of the creepy person he is now, but the things he did back then doesn't even begin to compare to the later horrors that came."

April waited with baited breath for Meat to continue as he paused to gather his thoughts and put them in order. Her heart was racing with anticipation, her desperate eagerness to know and possibly better understand Johnny's past nearly choking her. "So, what did...IT do when he came here?"

"Johnny's psyche has always been fragile, I suppose," Meat murmured sadly. "He was easily manipulated into doing what IT wanted. He started to kill people, drain their blood, and sacrificing it to the nether creature behind the wall. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing, I think, he just knew he it was what he was supposed to do. In return for the meals and Johnny's obedience, IT granted him protection and invincibility from whatever stood in his way. Johnny was a good little drone at first, but after a while, he started getting a firmer grip on himself and grew more aware of what he was doing and the ill morality behind it. Not that he really cared about the horrible killing of other humans, but he hated that he was doing it for something else and not himself. The Doughboys were being used by IT to help Johnny's manipulation along, but as soon as he became aware of himself and his actions, they proved pretty much useless."

"So...what is IT, anyway?" April asked. "You called it a nether creature, Johnny says it's a monster...but where did it come from?"

"Sadly, even I cannot say for sure," Reverend Meat sighed. "After it all was said and done, he wrote in that diary of his like mad. I'm not even sure how in the world he was able to keep using the same book, but hey, who am I to question that? Anyway, it's bound to have some answers for you."

April stared down at the little book in her hands, then focused on the burger boy again. "I don't understand. You're being so helpful. Why would Nny have told me to avoid you?"

He resumed his hideous smirk as he began making his way to the doorway again. "I came along after IT was dormant and the Doughboys were silenced for good. I feared that there was still a sliver of vulnerability within Johnny, and that if IT ever arose again, he would go back to being manipulated. So I tried to get Johnny to start focusing on his own wants and needs more than anything to close that opening. I would have hated to see him spiral into the pathetic creature he was while under IT's influence. If he was already enslaved to himself, it would be much more difficult for IT to take control of him again. But Johnny is so determined to evolve into some impossible cold and numb entity that he ignores nearly all of his desires and necessities. He hated me for trying to make him his own master, even though I was only trying to get him to save himself. And now look where he's ended up. Had he took some of my advice, he probably wouldn't be in the situation he is now. Such is the stupidity of a human, I suppose."

April shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I suppose we ARE stupid sometimes. But Johnny isn't an idiot. He's just lost. And that's why I'm here. I'm going to make him better."

Meat laughed saronically. "Oh, little girl, if only you knew how futile those words of yours really are. Just as it's dangerous for the blind to lead the blind, it is unwise for the sick to cure the sick. You've caught the disease, Mary. It's only a matter of time before you end up just like Johnny. Worse, even, if you aren't careful...Yes, I'm almost certain IT will appear to you in one way or another soon. If I were you, I would start strengthening my mind right away. You don't want to be a slave, too, do you?"

April swallowed hard and shook her head vigorously. "But I'm not worried," she said. "I've already submitted myself to something. I won't go down without a fight."

He grinned at her, nodding in approval. "Well, I look forward to seeing how well you fare. Just watch yourself. IT could already have a hold on you and you won't realize it until it's too late."

She replaced the floorboard and headed for the door. "Thanks for that vote of confidence. I guess I'll be seeing you around, eh?"

No answer.

April turned around to see what was wrong. Reverend Meat had moved back to his original place by the doorway, staring empty-eyed across the room.

"Reverend Meat...?" she stammered.

Still no response.

April cautiously walked out of the room, her heart pounding at her ribcage, wondering if maybe she had been talking to herself all along...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Dear Diary**

For this scene, the part of April Black will be played by Kristin Stewart, and the role of Johnny C. will be played by Robert Pattinson. Most of you will know these two as their most widely recognized parts as Bella Swan and Edward Cullen of the Twilight series.

April: Oh, Johnny, I don't care if you're a committed mass murderer! I love you!

Johnny: You don't get it, Mary! I'm a killer! That means I kill things and I am hideous on the inside, despite my attractive appearance!

*A random fangirl appoaches*

Fangirl: OMIGOD, IT'S EDWARD! EDWARD, I LOOOOVVVVEEE YOOOOOUUUU! *begins to attempt typical stalker rape stuffs*

*Johnny takes a knife from his coat pocket and decaptitates the girl, then turns back to April*

Johnny: You see what I mean?

April: *hugs Johnny tightly* I don't care! I have proclaimed my undying love for you, which means you'll cease to kill other people for my sake and we'll settle down happily together!

Johnny: My god, you're right! I'll do it, Mary! I'll-Who the hell are YOU?

*The REAL Johnny C. steps in, gripping a shiny carving knife in his right hand, and a metal cleaver in his left*

Nny: What the FUCK do you think you're doing? What the hell is this?

Pattinson: We're trying to make a movie, dude. Scram! You're interrupting our corny, redundant love scene!

Nny: Oh, god, NO! WHY? First, you film crappy movies about the most retarded shit ever to be unleashed upon this doomed world, and now you defile the greatest comic book ever written? YOU MONSTERS! YOU HAVE TO BE STOPPED!

Stewart: Chill out, man. It's only a movie. It's not like it will affect the lives of millions of teenage girls worldwide and warp them into mindless zombies or anything.

Nny: No, it will do just that! But I'll stop you now, before your power over the retarded teenage population is too great!

*Nny lunges at the pair, stabbing Pattinson in the throat and pounding Stewart's crackhead face with the cleaver*

Nny: WHEW! That was a close one! It does my heart good to see the world be rid of such evil. Now then, I think I'll go get a cherry Brain Freezy while you all read the REAL story here. See ya!

...Yeah, anyhow, let's get on with the fic now that that painful montage is over, okay?  
>***********<p>

The telephone began to ring quite loudly as April stepped through the door of her apartment. She groaned in exhaustion, kicked off her high heels, and trudged across the room to answer the call. It had been such a long night. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now, especially after the last conversation she'd had.

"Hello," she muttered into the reciever, plopping down on the sofa.

"Hey, sis, about time you answered!" Xin's voice greeted her. "Where have you been? Didn't you go straight home when you left?"

"No," she sighed, "I went to see my patient at the asylum."

"Always work with you, isn't it? Jeez, and after all that drama, too..." her stepsister joked. "Anyway, I just wanted to call and see if you were okay."

"I'm fine, Xin. I'm a little tired, but I'm fine."

"Well, that's good news. Charlotte's done nothing but rant ever since we came home. She's pretty pissed off at you right now."

"She'll get over it. She's only upset because she wants me to marry into money. Fuck her and her superficiality."

Xin laughed for a moment or two before growing serious. "Really, April, she's so mad that she drank herself unconscious. Dad had to literally drag her to bed. I'd hate to be her in the morning."

"Xin, I'm not trying to be rude, but if you called me just to tell me how pissed my mother is, I'm hanging up," April murmured. "I'm very tired and I still have some things to do before going to bed."

"Well, I didn't call over just that..." the younger girl informed quietly. "I called to also ask you about Nick. Has he tried to get in touch with you since you left?"

April sat up straighter and cocked an eyebrow curiously. "No...Why?"

"Well...He was a lot angrier than he let on to you. When Dad and Charlotte headed to the car, I stayed in the restaraunt to use the bathroom. After I came out, I heard him ranting to his dad about how you embarrassed him in front of everyone there and that he could have just strangled you at the moment. That dude has some serious issues. I was afraid he'd called you and tried to start a bunch of crap," Xin explained.

"No, I haven't heard-"

April cut herself short when she heard the call waiting signal ring in her ear. She glanced at the caller ID and released a long, aggravated moan.

"Never mind. Speak of the devil."

"He's calling you?" Xin cried. "Put it on three-way, if you can. I gotta hear this shit."

"Fine, but no more 'princess' comments or anything like that, all right? Be quiet. I don't even want him to know you're listening," April said before accepting the call.

"Hello?"

"It's me," Nick's voice whispered pathetically. "Can you talk?"

April sighed and headed to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine. "Yeah, I guess I can for a little bit. What do you need?"

"I miss you," he murmured.

April rolled her eyes. _Here we go. I should've seen this one coming._

"You just saw me not even five hours ago, Nick."

"I know. And you broke my heart, remember?" he retorted.

_Oh, my GOD, you have to be joking,_ April thought, curling her lip in disgust. "I broke it to you as gently as I could."

"How long would you have kept it up, April?" he demanded. "How long would you have continued to lead me on had I not asked you to marry me? Do you even know how many women would kill to just be with me? Do you?"

"Make your point already, Nick," she sighed in a bored voice before gulping down a large portion of her wine.

"My point is that I remain unconvinced of your rejection!" he cried. "What's wrong, darling? What is really causing you to distance yourself from me?"

April laughed and started to take another sip of wine, only to find out she had already emptied the glass. She poured more, filling her cup to the rim this time, and swallowed another hearty drink. A light buzz was beginning to tingle in her head, which numbed the annoyed feeling she got whenever Nick spoke.

"Look, Nick, I know you think you're so wonderful and all that. And you ARE a nice guy, but you're just not for me, okay? I like my men a little more...dangerous than what you're used to being. Dangerous, adventurous, and maybe a little..." she paused for a moment to choose the best word, "...crazy."

"I can do that!" he cried. "I can be all those things! I can change, April dear, I can be whatever you want if you'll have me!"

Another laugh snuck its way from April's lips. "Nick, please, you're making a fool of yourself. I don't want you to change into what I want you to be. I want you stay as you are and get on with your life! If we were meant to be, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, I'd have agreed to marry you, and we'd be planning a glorious wedding in Cancaun or whatever that place is you want to visit."

Nick was silent on his end of the line for a moment or two. April used these moments to chug down her second glass of wine and begin a third.

"Well, are you gonna just sit there or are you going to beg relentlessly for my love?" she snapped at long last, sick of waiting for Nick to speak. "Because I DO have a job to do in the morning, and the sooner I get some rest, the better my performance will be."

"...You're drunk, aren't you?" he asked bitterly.

She giggled. "I might be a little tipsy. But only because alcohol wears down the urge to reach through the phone and slap you for annoying me at this time of night."

"I thought you said you quit."

"You know, Nick, I've said a lot of things to you over the past four years that have turned out to be a lie. This one shouldn't be nearly as shocking as what I sprung on you at the restaurant."

"Alcohol makes you delusional, April. For someone who spends all of her time around insane people, I would like to think you would understand some of the effects it has on you," Nick said.

"Fuck!" she exploded, slamming her fist on the kitchen countertop. "What would you know, huh? You sound like my mother, for Christ's sake! If you went one day or so in my shoes, maybe you would understand why I desire the stupid effects of alcohol! You'd know why I come home every night and drink until I pass out on the sofa! I can't feel when I'm drunk, and therefore, I can't care about anything. And that's how I want it. I want to stop caring so damn much, but I can't while I'm in my right mind. And when I feel like this, I can let go of everything! So unless you have an alternative way to make me numb other than the bottle, please speak up now!"

"Maybe you're right. I can see this was a bad time to call you. I'll catch you again in the morning, if you're not to hung over to answer the phone," he told her icily.

"I have a better idea," she said with a drunken giggle. "How about you hang up now, and just don't call back at all? Get on with your life and leave me alone, Nick! Maybe you ought to down a few drinks. It might help to loosen the stick in your ass."

With that, April dropped the phone into its cradle, having momentarily forgotten that Xin was still on the line, listening to the conversation. It began to ring to let her know she still had someone on the line.

Muttering unintelligibly to herself, April plucked up the reciever from the cradle once more. "What?"

"Did you forget I was listening?" Xin asked quietly. "Sis, I know you've had a bad day, but that's no reason to get yourself plastered."

"You don't know, Xin," April snapped. "You just don't. Bad doesn't even begin to cover the kind of day I've had. Bad barely scratches the surface!"

She flung herself onto the sofa again and groaned in pain as her head made contact with one of the arms.

"...Nothing an old fashioned sleepover can't fix," Xin spoke up after a long period of silence. "I'm sure Dad won't mind driving me over."

"Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"No. One, I am on summer vacation for another three weeks. Two, even if I were in school, tomorrow is Saturday, which means I wouldn't be going anyway."

"I don't think so, Xin. Not tonight. I've got work to do."

"You're not going to be doing anything if you're as plastered as you sound."

April rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the phone. "I'm not as drunk as I let on to Nick. That was only to get him off of my back. I knew shaking him off wasn't going to be so easy."

"But you're still drunk, aren't you?" Xin asked.

"...Yeah, I'm a little tipsy, but not so much that I'm not aware of what I'm doing," April muttered, reaching across the coffee table and grabbing Johnny's 'die-ary'.

She opened the notebook and leafed through its contents, browsing for anything that caught her attention. She stopped when she first saw her name mentioned and fully spread out the pages before her.

"Xin...I'll call you back tomorrow, okay?" she told her stepsister softly, and she hung up without waiting for a response.

She sat up straight and hovered over the book, carefully reading the words printed in Johnny's sloppy handwriting:

_**Dear Die-ary,**_

_**Today, a group of college girls were laughing at me while I was at the mall. Their leader was a redhead, whom is now chained to a wall in the basement as I speak. I'm getting sick of this shit. Every time I go outside, someone just has to piss me off one way or another. I mean, really, of all the people that would make good targets, for some reason I am always the one to be chosen. I know I'm not the best looking person on the planet, and I know other people think I dress funny, but come on. What the hell? Why is it me EVERY SINGLE TIME? Fuck.**_

April bit her lip and forced back a laugh, even though there was no one around to hear it. She felt bad that Johnny seemed to get the shaft all the time, and yet it was hilarious because he had no idea why the college girls were laughing.

She moved her gaze to the next page, where she had first noticed her name penned down:

_**Dear Die-ary,**_

_**The girl I chained in the basement finally woke up. She's been out for about four hours, I think...During that time, since I didn't know her name, I just decided to call her Mary for her bloody red hair. When I went to check and see that she wasn't faking her unconsciousness, she lashed out and bit my nose! It stings like hell, but I guess I'll live, provided she isn't some kind of evil demon that poisons her prey with her teeth. It turns out she and her friends weren't laughing at me, but they were laughing at HER. And you wanna know why? Because they were trying to get her to talk to me or something like that. It's really quite embarrassing when you abduct someone with the malicious intent to kill them, only to find out that they weren't doing at all what you thought they were. And because of that, I find myself heavily debating whether or not to do away with her. I mean, she's still a person, and I am not particularly fond of that fact...**_

April threw back her head and laughed. " A demon? Really, Nny?"

Despite her strong urge to read on about what Johnny had written about her, she turned further back in the book to read some of the earlier entries. Some things she found made her feel quite sick, others caused her to wrack her brain with philosophical questions, but all of that was shoved aside when she found the contents about IT and the Doughboys.

_**Dear Die-ary,**_

_**I killed a survey man today. I had to! The wall was starting to dry out, and I could hear whatever is behind it begin to chew on the wall itself. Oh, well. He was kind of annoying anyway...**_

_**Dear Diary, **_

_**Today, I stuffed some dolls full of dead rats that I put in the blender. I'm wondering if, maybe, something **__**really**__** is wrong with me.**_

_**Dear Die-ary,**_

_**Devi, that girl in the bookstore I've been talking to a lot lately, asked me out this evening. She's a really nice girl, so I decided to go. We had a lot of fun. So much, in fact, that I started to get that annoying feeling that always interferes with my relationships that I develop with members of the opposite sex. I tried to explain as nicely as possible that if I didn't kill her, the nice relationship we have developed would eventually just collapse into ruin. I really don't want that to happen, so if I kill her, we wouldn't have to worry about the decay of our lovely bond. But she's a quick witted one, and she smashed my face into my mirror and ran away, leaving me in a pool of my own blood. It took forever to get all the glass out of my face. But now I have to wonder if maybe I made our relationship rot a lot sooner than it should have...**_

April's eyes widened, her jaw dropping agape as she reached the end of the final entry on the page she was reading.

"Oh, my god..." she whispered in horror.

What did this mean for her? If Johnny happened to return her feelings for him, did that mean he would kill her? How many other girls had he murdered just because he was afraid of them rejecting him?

She shook her head. "No. Nny's come a long way since then. He...He wouldn't kill me...Right...? Not after all we've been through together!"

She felt sick. Her head was spinning, her heart was racing. She tried to shrug it off and focus.

"That's not what I should be worried about...I should be more concerned about this Devi person...Maybe she could tell me a thing or two about Nny's life before I met him."

April shut the diary and stood up. "But not now. I think I've been traumatized enough for today..."

She headed into the kitchen once again, poured yet another glass of wine and trudged to her bedroom.

"Tomorrow is another day..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Sickness**

The sound of vomiting sounded throughout April's apartment as she tried to cure herself of the massive hangover she was suffering.

"I had to be gluttinous enough to finish that bottle...!" she scowled at herself, finally pushing herself to her feet. "Maybe Nick's right...I really should quit drinking so much..."

But old habits were indeed very difficult to break, and April had been drinking since her freshman year in high school. Quitting would be easier said than done.

April moaned as she stumbled into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Talk about a rough night..."

She settled in her easy chair with Johnny's diary on her lap. She didn't really feel like reading it anymore, but if it would help Johnny, she was willing to do whatever it took. It was painful to read the gruesome details of the way Johnny had butchered other people. It hurt to read about the pain he had suffered, about how he was agonizingly aware of his own worsening sickness.

By the time she had finished her coffee, April was in a thoroughly depressed mood from reading the book. She laid it carefully on the table before getting up once more to dress for the day.

She knew it was wrong, that she shouldn't show preference to one patient over the others, but she decided that she would take a vacation away from work for a while. She picked up the phone and called her office.

"Hello, Tenna? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I think I'll take my vacation now...Uh-huh...No, I'm just not feeling well, and I need to catch up on some things at home...Yeah. Thanks for understanding. Bye."

April hung up and released a prolonged breath, relieved that she wouldn't have to worry about working for a while. She could now dedicate all the time she had to Johnny.

"But first, I think a little research is in order," she told herself, grabbing the phonebook.

It didn't take long to find the name she was searching for, thanks to Johnny having written it in his diary.

She dialed the number and waited impatiently for someone to answer.

"...Hello...?" a woman's voice said slowly, as if she wasn't sure whether she should speak or not.

"Hi, I'm calling to speak to a Miss Devi D.," April informed in a businesslike voice. "Is she available?"

"...I'm Devi," the voice replied quietly. "Who is this?"

"My name is April Black. I'm a psychiatrist who is doing a little background work on one of my patients," April said. "I was wondering if maybe you would care to answer a few questions?"

"...And this patient is someone I know...?"

"Yes. I realize it might be a difficult thing for you to talk about, but it's very important if you tell me all you can."

"Who is it?"

"...His name is Johnny C.."

April heard a loud crash on the other end of the conversation, followed by Devi crying out "FUCK!" several times in a row.

"Er...Is everything okay...?" April stammered.

"Fine! I'm fine," Devi muttered. "So, Johnny, huh? Caught at last, was he?" Her voice was dripping with hatred.

April bit her lip in uncertainty. "Yes, he's been committed to the local insane asylum for a few months now. I have been charged with his treatment. I know you had an...episode...with him some years ago, but please, I have to talk to you about some things."

Devi was silent for a few moments before releasing an audible groan. "...Fine. I'll talk to you. But you have to come to my place. I have something you might be interested in taking a look at."

April was taken aback momentarily, then spoke again. "All right, I can do that."

"Be here in thirty minutes," Devi said. "I'll see you then."

April agreed and hung up the phone.

Johnny squirmed again in his straitjacket, staring hopelessly at the ceiling. His breath was heavy from the vain attempts at escape he had made. It was so unbearably hot in his cell, especially with his body heat being cooped up within the jacket. He found himself gazing at the door quite often, and then would realize how hard he was wishing for April to open it and greet him with that warm smile of hers.

He blushed a light pink at the thought of her, then tried to shake it off and go back to staring at the padded roof above him. He hadn't spoken all day. The voices in his head had reduced to mere whispers. He felt strange without hearing their nonstop screaming within the walls of his broken mind. He knew it was because of the pills he had agreed to take. They were making him feel this way.

_But at least I don't have to strain to hear my own voice over the others now..._he thought. _I wonder how long it will last before I grow immune to this...?_

He sighed with boredom, unconsciously turning his sights back to the door again.

_I wish Mary would come...It's never dull with her around._

And it wasn't. Anything he did brought a smile to her face. Nearly everything he said made her face light up as though it had made her day. Johnny refused to admit it even to himself, but he took a great deal of pleasure in seeing her happy...

...But it also worried him. Relationships bloomed all the time, but as soon as they matured, they would begin to wither, leaving hearts blackened with rage and pain. Johnny feared that would be the case with him and April.

_If anything went wrong, who's to say what it would do to me,_ he said silently to himself. _I've never allowed things like that live long enough to see how they would fare. Why should I start now? If anything, I should destroy it while I can, since I've never felt this so strongly. That in itself makes it all the more painful... -sigh- What to do...?_

What to do, indeed. On one hand, Johnny really wanted to give his bond with April a chance to blossom into something more, but on the other hand, there was no guarentee that he would let April live. As volitile as he was, he was aware that he might kill her without any reason at all. Such was the strength of his instinct-no-his addiction.

He soon grew tired of thinking about it, and shoved the thoughts to the blackest corners of his mind. All he knew right then was how much he wanted April to walk through the door to see him.

"She doesn't love you, Johnny," Psycho-Doughboy's voice sneered. "How long will it take you to see that? No one loves you. No one will ever love you."

_Shut up...Just shut up...! _Johnny thought, shutting his eyes tightly, bracing himself against the immediate irritation he felt when either of the Doughboys spoke.

"She's tricking you, Nny," Mr. Eff said. "She doesn't feel a thing for you...Well, you know, aside from hatred...And why shouldn't she?"

Johnny growled aloud and turned over on his stomach, burying his face into the padding on the floor. "Shut. The fuck. Up."

But Eff was right. Why shouldn't April hate him? Why shouldn't she want to see him suffer?

But she wasn't like that at all. She was kind, compassionate, and willing to do anything she could for Johnny's sake.

Johnny groaned again, feeling his stomach knot itself tightly. It sucked to be him. It really did.

April showed up at Devi's apartment five minutes earlier than expected. She swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in her throat as she waited for Devi to come to the door.

At long last (more like two minutes), a thin young woman around April's age with purple hair answered April's knock. She eyed April skeptically for a moment before speaking in the same voice that had greeted the redhead on the phone earlier that morning. "Dr. Black?"

April nodded. "Nice to meet you, Miss D.."

The woman made a face. "Please, just call me Devi." She stepped aside and motioned for April to enter her apartment. "Sit down, make yourself at home."

April couldn't help but allow her eyes to wander aimlessly around the room, awed by the imaginative paintings-both finished and incomplete-decorating her surroundings.

"You're an artist?" she asked Devi.

The violet-haired girl nodded. "All my life."

April settled on the sofa and waited for Devi to join her. "I hope I'm not keeping you from anything..."

"No," Devi assured her as she took a seat next to her.

April took notice of the bag in Devi's hand and how it was wriggling, as if some rabid creature was being contained inside it. "Um..."

"This is what I wanted to show you," Devi said. "I didn't want to tell you over the phone, because I would just sound insane if I did, but now that you're here and can see it with your own eyes, you'll be able to understand."

She cautiously opened the bag and pulled out a little doll that very much resembled herself.

The doll hissed and struggled in Devi's grasp, cursing at the young woman and shouting streams of insults.

April's eyes widened with shock at the sight of the doll. "What the hell...?"

"This is Sickness," Devi said. "Quit worming around already! You're not going anywhere. Even if you got away from me, you can't see anything and would be unable to run off. Now say hello to Dr. Black."

Sickness glared at April with her empty eyes for a moment before a twisted smirk obscured her face. "Oh, my...My, my, my...I know you. Or rather, that aura that surrounds you," she told April in a voice very much like Devi's. "I've felt it before. We've seen it before. You caught the disease, too, huh? Tell us, are you friends with Johnny?"

"Wha...?" April was stunned. "How would you know...?"

"We can tell. Everyone who has met Nny either ends up dead or catches his illness," the doll whispered. "You're in the early stages of it. Soon you'll begin to slip away, just like he did...Just like how Devi here is."

"Shut up," Devi growled. "I've endured these past few years and have managed to keep my sanity, have I not? Admit that I'm too strong willed for your shit already!"

"What are you talking about?" April demanded. "That makes twice that I've been told that I'm infected with some kind of disease. Not that I'm not aware of it. I have been feeling as though my mind has ceased functioning properly...I had a conversation with a talking burger boy last night, so it's not surprising that I'm losing it."

Sickness chuckled devilishly, as if happy to hear this. "At least you accept the inevitable, instead of prolonging it, unlike someone I know."

"Shut UP!" Devi snapped.

The doll laughed, still focusing her attention on April. "So, you have come to Devi in hopes of enlightenment of Nny's madness? How in the world did you manage to find her?"

"...In Johnny's diary, there was an entry about her," April replied. "Devi, I want you to tell me about the night you went out with Nny. What happened? I know he tried to kill you..."

"I still can't get over it!" Devi cried. "I stayed locked up for months after that, terrified to go outside and find him there with a knife in his hand, ready to pounce on me...He seemed like such a wonderful person...I hadn't had conversations like that in a long time. He was so smart and understanding. I liked him so much...And then after that night, I just...I don't know. Since all the shit I went through with Sickness, I think I understand what was wrong with him, but I can't forgive him for pulling what he did. He seemed so normal at first..."

"Of course, he did. In fact, he probably would have for the remainder of that night had I not interfered," Sickness said with a maniacal giggle.

"You?" April was confused. "You were there?"

"Of course, I was. We both were," the doll said. "But back then, we had our individual bodies. Back then, we were called Mr. Eff and Psycho-Doughboy. We were Johnny's voices."

"Doughboy?" April cried. "Then what the hell are you doing bothering Devi?"

"Johnny broke away from our master," Sickness growled. "We had to find a new mind for him to feed on, so he could thrive, so the cycle wouldn't break. If you read the 'die-ary', then you surely know what our master is."

"Not really," she admitted. "I only got it last night, and I haven't read that far..."

Sickness shook her head and heaved a sigh. "It's all rather complicated. Wonderfully complicated. Don't you love chaos? I know I do."

April curled her lip up in disgust. "Why Johnny? Why Devi? Why anyone? What the hell are you and IT accomplishing through decomposing the minds of people?"

"Poor little human," the doll snickered. "If you could only understand. I'm sure Johnny was told all about it during his visit to the afterlife...But you two just have to live in ignorance, not knowing what it is, exactly, that tortures you."

"I'm tired of your elusive remarks!" April growled. "Tell me what the fuck you're blabbering about! I have to know!"

"You may have to know, be we do not have to tell you anything," Sickness chortled. "And anyway, you are so very amusing. Amusing and weak. Much more likely to submit than Devi. I don't know why everyone wants to fight the disease so much. It immunizes you from nearly everything, so long as you obey the master. Anything you want is yours to claim. Anything you require is practically handed to you. All you pay is the measley price of your obedience. After that, it is what you make of it. Johnny was fine at first, until he began to question. And oh, how he questioned! And then he began to fight, the ungrateful little filth! Going about doing the things he did because he wanted to, not because he was ordered to. What was the difference? After so long, what he wanted to do and what he was supposed to do became the same thing! But no, because he was being controlled, he just had to break free! Never mind all the perks that had come with his position, he was much too good for that. The impudent louse."

She stared at April, though she had no eyes to stare with. The bloody sockets seemed to burn into the redhead's very soul. April shivered uncomfortably.

Devi shoved Sickness hard with the tip of her index finger, causing the smaller image of herself to stumble. "There you go with that same old monologue. You don't seem to understand the concept of how important it is to us humans that we keep our freedom of doing as we please. You make it sound so wonderful, working for this master of yours, but we don't like that little detail about being bossed around. It's just human nature to hate being told what to do."

April knew Devi was right, but there was just one thing that lingered in her mind-that being an avatar for IT didn't sound all that bad.

All her life, she had been dictated what to say, where to go, and who to be. If making a meager sacrifice of blood to a shady entity was all she had to do to escape all that, then it seemed like a small price to pay. Depending on whose blood she offered as tribute, she would probably be doing the world favors.

Sickness seemed to sense April's contemplation and grinned. "You like the sound of it, don't you? It's appealing to you, the thought of causing murder and mayhem and walking away unscathed. You see? It isn't as bad as everyone has made it seem. What do you say, Doctor? Are you in?"

April drew in a deep breath. "I...I need time to think about it," she muttered, standing abruptly from the sofa.

Sickness's smile grew wider and more demonic. "Very well. I'm sure we'll hear from you soon."

April shuddered and made her way for the door.

Devi stuffed Sickness back into the confines of the bag and rushed to catch the other girl. "You can't be serious! Are you stupid enough to subject yourself to that thing? Look at Johnny! Do you want to end up like him?"

April shook her head and heaved a heavy sigh. "No. But I won't. I'm different from Nny. The thought of submissing doesn't bother me. Maybe it's because I've spent my life submitting to others. But...if I did it, then it would open a world of oppertunities to me. What others told me wouldn't matter anymore. I...I could finally live the life I've dreamed of. And I don't really have any qualms about cutting people up. I've always wanted to, in fact, but didn't because the idea of living in a padded cell like Johnny is doesn't appeal to me. I like the idea of it."

She smiled at Devi, the look in her eyes half crazed. "Besides, my sanity is ever dwindling as it is. Even without having to work for that thing, it would eventually disappear. So it's not like I'd be losing anything."

She shook Devi's hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Devi. I know I didn't get to speak to you much, but I got all the answers I need. I hope to see you again in the future, but now I must say goodbye."

"...Yeah. Bye," Devi stammered before the redheaded girl started to leave.

As April walked briskly down the long corridor from Devi's apartment, she felt the gap in her sanity widen just a little bit more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Limit**

As soon as April slid into her car, her cell phone began to ring inside her purse. She checked the caller ID and saw that the number was Nick's. She rolled her eyes and started to press the ignore button, but then she realized if she blew him off, he would just continue to bother her.

Despite the disgusted feeling she got, April answered her phone. "Hello."

"Well, you sound better today," Nick's voice said.

"Give me a break. I had a rough day yesterday," she retorted. "And like you have any right to infringe on what I choose to do in my own home."

"All right, all right. Can we please cut back on the hostility? I just want to talk to you."

"Talk, then, because I have nothing to say." April started her car and began driving down the street.

"In person," Nick said. "I want to see you."

"Why?" April asked. "If I were you, I wouldn't want to see me."

"Even if you rejected me, April, I'm still in love with you."

"Please, Nick, I'm driving. Can you wait until I've stopped before you nauseate me?" she sighed.

"How can you be so cold?" he cried. "This isn't you at all!"

"On the contrary, it's very much like me. The only reason why you're so shocked is because you've yet to see this side of me. You see, it hasn't been until lately that my true self hasn't been afraid to be exposed. In fact, I've taken quite a liking to it. I don't feel so holed up anymore. Do you know what it's like to be told who you're supposed to be all the time? It's terrible. I detest having to shut myself up all the time. But let's just say that recently, I've discovered a few solutions to feeling so bad about being myself."

April made a sharp turn, not realizing how fast she was going until she was practically thrown into the car door.

"Please, can't I just see you one more time?" Nick pleaded.

She groaned. "What are you going to gain from seeing me, Nick? Are you some sort of masochist?"

"No. I love you."

"Stop saying that!"

"But it's true!"

"I don't care if it's true, Nick, I don't want to hear it! If you really loved me, you'd leave me alone!"

"I'm waiting for you at that little cyber cafe you like so much," Nick goaded. "Come talk to me, have a coffee, and I promise I won't bother you again afterward."

"..." April was silent for a moment, then groaned. "You promise you'll stop irritating me?"

"Cross my heart," he swore.

"...All right, fine. I'm on the other side of town right now. I should be there in about forty-five minutes," she said. "Just get something to drink and wait where you are."

"Will do, love. See you then."

"Don't call me-!" April cut herself short as Nick ended the call.

She glared at her phone, as if trying to melt it with her eyes. "Bastard," she muttered.

Johnny gasped as he jerked up and gasped for air. He looked wildly about his cell, his heart pumping adrenaline through his veins. When he saw there was nothing there, he breathed a sigh of relief and fell onto his back once more. He cursed himself for having fallen asleep again.

_It's those goddamned drugs,_ he thought. _They make me tired..._

He shuddered as he reviewed his nightmare in his memory.

He had dreamed that April had surrendered her free will to the creature behind his wall, and that she had begun to slaughter people just like he used to. He envisioned himself watching her in horror, unable to move, unable to stop her.

Killing was all good and well for him, but he didn't want to see April decay into the pathetic state he was now in. That life wasn't meant for someone like her. The thought of her wrapped in a straitjacket and thrown in a padded cell like he was positively revolted Johnny.

_It was only a dream,_ he told himself. _Mary would never harm anyone. She hasn't got it in her. Not like me..._

Even so, Johnny had to admit that something about April was different since the first time they had met. Maybe it was because when they entered each other's lives, April was a much younger, more confused version of her modern self. Confused, but also sweeter. Much sweeter. Now, she just seemed so...angry.

She never took out her irritation on Johnny, but he knew enough about all forms of the emotion well enough to identify when someone was feeling it. The only thing he couldn't seem to determine was why she seemed constantly frustrated.

"You really like that girl, don't you, Nny?" Mr. Eff remarked. "You must, since you obsess over her so much."

"I do NOT 'obsess', Eff," he muttered.

"No? Sure seems like it to us," Psycho-Doughboy said. "You can't stop looking at her when she's here, and the second she walks out that door, you stare at it until she comes back again. That isn't obsessing?"

Johnny shook his head. He was determined to remain as quiet and still as possible. If he could do that much, maybe it would convince everyone at the asylum that he was beginning to feel better. The sooner he was released, the better.

And so that is why Johnny lay on the floor in silence, ignoring the Doughboys' snide comments with all of his might.

_I hope I can keep this act up. The sooner I'm out of here, the better...And then I'm going to rip out the throats of everyone in this fucking hellhole._

April swallowed back the lump that had formed in her throat as she entered the cafe. Nick was sitting at one of the tables, waiting patiently for her arrival.

His face brightened upon seeing her. He waved and motioned for her to join him.

April slid in the seat across from Nick. "So, what do you want?"

"I want you to reconsider my proposal," he replied softly.

She just laughed. "No way. If that's all you wanted, I am out of here."

She began to stand, but he grabbed her wrist.

"April, please..." he pleaded. "I love you so much-"

"Oh, Nick, I beg of you to PLEASE stop saying that word!" April said. "It makes me feel sick."

"But-"

"Stop it. I didn't come here to listen to you cry and beg me to come back to you. I'm not doing it."

She got up and headed out the door.

"April!" Nick cried, tearing after her. "Wait!"

April had to stop and wait for traffic to cease before she could reach her car across the street. "Nick! Leave me alone!" she snapped. "I don't want to be with you. Go find one of those women who'd kill to be yours that you told me about and marry them! Find someone who loves you and makes you happy."

"You make me happy, April..."

Nick seized her by the waist and tried to pull her toward him.

"CUT IT OUT!" she shouted.

A blaze of rage was burning within April by now. She wrenched herself away from Nick, using strength she didn't even know she had.

_He's irritating, isn't he?_ said a voice in her head. _The world would be better off without him around. You certainly would be, as well. _

April's chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She knew the voice. It was her own, talking to her, consoling her.

_It wouldn't be very hard to do away with him, you know. Look at that street. All of those speeding vehicles...Messy, yes, but it would certainly get the job done. Wouldn't it be funny to see the pavement painted red with his entrails? If you're lucky, you might get to see a chunk of brain or two leak from that ugly head. Sounds fun, doesn't it?_

April wasn't going to lie. That did sound appealing. And hilarious.

Without giving it a second thought, April reached out and shoved Nick into the street with all her might.

He staggered and fell backward. His body didn't even make it to the ground before a speeding car collided with him, flattening him on the blacktop. Blood sprayed from his skull, forming a crimson puddle around his head.

He twitched and screamed in agony as he tried to force himself to get up. Just as he managed to pull himself into a sitting position, another car screeched loudly as the driver tried to avoid hitting him and the vehicle that had run him over the first time. It careened over Nick, crushing him once again, and plowed into the first car.

By now, blood was pouring from every open orfice on Nick's body, the puddle around his head joining the leakage from the other areas and soaking the young man entirely. He continued to twitch for a moment or two, then fell limp altogether.

April stared with wide eyes for a split second before dashing around the corner and escaping the gorey scene.

She ran for several blocks until she came to a small, dirty suburb outside of town. It took only a minute or so before she realized she was in Johnny's neighborhood.

April ran to his house and let herself inside with the spare key she had kept. Once she was safely concealed from sight, she sank onto the floor, breathing a sigh of relief.

And then the most peculiar thing happened: April began to giggle.

She giggled louder and louder until she burst into a fit of maniacal laughter. The memory of seeing Nick squashed on the pavement was just too damn hilarious to be afraid of.

April fell on her back, clutching her stomach, which was beginning to hurt from the intensity of her laughter. Tears slipped from her eyes, streaming down her face and dampening her hair.

And she just kept laughing. She wondered if she would ever stop.

After what felt like an eternity of hysterics, April finally managed to calm down enough to breathe.

"Okay...Okay. It's not that funny anymore. I'm all right," she said aloud to no one in particular.

"What's not funny?" a familiar voice asked.

April glanced down to see Reverend Meat sitting beside her. She grinned. "I pushed my ex-boyfriend into the street, and he was completely crushed by a heap of speeding cars!"

She started to laugh again, louder and more crazed than before. "Isn't that just the funniest thing you've ever heard?"

"...Not really..." Meat replied slowly, eyeing her skeptically. "I find it disturbing that you are this amused with it."

"Please, the annoying bastard brought it upon himself," April said defensively, her laughter dying away. "It's what he gets for trying to force himself on me. The prick."

Meat shook his head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're starting to sound like Johnny."

"Well, now I know why Nny was so jazzed up about murder! I've never felt so alive! So thrilled!" April sprang to her feet and danced around in a circle. "His blood and guts all over the pavement like that, hearing him scream like a five-year-old girl...I didn't think that killing someone would be so overwhelmingly funny!"

She heaved a sigh. "But people were sure to have seen me push him...No doubt somebody got a good enough look at me to give my description to the police...Dammit!"

"It just proves you've got to be careful of your impulses, Miss Mary," Meat told her somberly. "Now what are you going to do if you get put into a padded cell like Nny?"

April was quiet for a moment, then a devious grin spread across her face. "Well, there's one way out of this..."

She reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.

"Devi? I've got a message for Sickness. Tell her I'm in."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Off the Deep End**

Johnny sat up at once when the door swung open. His face lit up when he saw April, relieved that she had finally come to visit him.

"I was starting to think you'd really left me," he told her.

She just grinned and shook her head. "I brought something for you."

Her hands, which were folded behind her back, now stretched toward Johnny and offered him a familiar cup.

"You got me a Brain Freezy!" he exclaimed, his smile widening considerably. "Mary, you truly are the best, you know that?"

April sat down beside him and stuck a straw into the beverage. "I'll hold it for you, since you're kind of tied up." She put it to Johnny's lips so he could drink it.

"I can't believe they actually let you bring it in here," he said between gulps.

She smiled. "Well, those guys out there are pretty cool about these things. I mean, what could I possibly do with a Brain Freezy?"

"...Poison me...?" Johnny's eyes grew even bigger than their usual large size as he stared at the drink.

April laughed. "Why in the world would I want to poison you, Nny?"

"Why, indeed," he muttered, taking another prolonged sip from the cup. "So, did you find my diary?"

"You mean 'die-ary', right?" she teased. "Yeah, I found it...And I think I might have some answers now. Mainly for me, since it's all probably things you already know..."

"Like what?" Johnny asked. He started to take another drink, but no Cherry Doom goodness reached his taste buds this time. He turned his focus back to the cup to find it was now empty. He pouted in disappointment.

April set the plastic container aside. "I have a clearer picture of what made you this way, I think. I paid a visit to...someone...and they filled me in on a lot of things. With that knowledge and everything you wrote in your diary, I was able to come up with a feasible explanation for everything that's happened to you."

"Oh, yeah? Lay it on me." Johnny flopped on his back, waiting for her to tell him her suspicions.

"I would, but there are microphones in here, you know. I don't think it's anything people need to hear. Besides, I've still got bugs to work out in my theory..."

April glanced down at Johnny with a curious expression. "You sure are mellow today, Nny."

He shrugged. "I took some meds. I can actually hear my own thoughts again."

"I see. Well, if that's all we have to do, you'll be out of here in no time...Although..."

A devilish grin turned upon April's lips. "Johnny, what if I told you I could get you out of here this very moment?"

"Can you?" he exclaimed, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "Really, Mary? That would be so great!"

"Oh, yes, Nny..." She stood up and started back to the door. "Just a minute. I'll be right back."

Johnny nodded and waited patiently as April exited the cell.

April cracked the door ever so slightly before stepping into the hallway outside Johnny's room. Jean, the guard, was waiting there as usual, and he gave her a suspicious look.

"What game are you playing with him, Doc?" he snapped. "There's no way C. is getting out of that cell. Not without Professor Membrane's say so."

April grinned. "Ah, but you see, Membrane isn't here today, and I can't wait long enough for him to come back and give me his approval to release Johnny. I have a busy schedule, you know. Can't afford to waste any time. And so, though I would prefer a more diplomatic approach to this, I am going to have to get a little barbaric."

She reached into her coat pocket and whipped out a butterfly knife. In a matter of seconds, the blade had glided through the unsuspecting guard's throat as though it had sliced the air.

Blood spewed from the severed flesh and sprayed April's face. The guard choked on the red substance as it oozed from his lips and dripped onto the floor. He collapsed on his knees, then fell limp before April.

She sighed. "It's too bad. I would have preferred a nicer way to do this, but a man like you is not someone I can waste words upon. Please don't hold it against me."

She kicked the door to Johnny's cell open again and hurried inside. "Come on, Nny, we don't have much time."

"M-Mary...?" he gasped, staring in awe of the blood that painted her face and clothing.

April laughed. "Oh, I must be really dirty now, huh?" She wiped her face with her business jacket, but it only smeared the blood even more. "Oh well. I'll have to clean it up later."

She released Johnny from his straitjacket and pulled him to his feet. "Let's get a move on. We dont have much time before they figure out what has happened."

She grabbed his hand and led him down the corridor, searching for an easy exit.

Johnny's jaw dropped when he saw Jean's corpse on the floor, still gushing blood. "What the hell, Mary?" he cried. "Did YOU do that?"

She giggled insanely and nodded. "It was so messy, but the most efficient method at the moment. There was no way I could get you past him, Nny. He was a jackass anyway."

Johnny was horrified. This wasn't his Mary. This wasn't her at all!

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Did you hit your head?"

"Mmm, I don't think so," she laughed.

Johnny was beginning to regret making all those jokes about April being as crazy as he was. Clearly, her mind had slipped as far away as his had, and he had been too blind to notice it.

April found an unguarded door and burst through it, still dragging Johnny along with her. She pulled him to her car and forced him inside.

As soon as she slid into the driver's seat, she started the vehicle and tore up the street.

"WHOO! WHAT A RUSH!" she squealed. "Wasn't that fun, Nny?"

Johnny didn't speak. He couldn't. He was much too shocked by what had just happened to say anything.

"One by one, we bite the dust/Kick the bucket and begin to rust/Give up the ghost when your number's up/WE ALL FALL DOWN!" April began to sing airily, grinning through her mask of blood. "We're ashes to ashes/Bones to paste/You'll wither away in your resting place/Eternity in a wooden case/WE ALL FALL DOWN!"

Johnny could only stare at her with astonishment. "Mary...what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Nny," she giggled. "In fact, I haven't felt this great in years! You never told me this life was so much fun!"

"Wha-?" he cried. "It's NOT fun, Mary!"

"It has been so far," she snickered. "First, I pushed my ex-boyfriend into lunch rush traffic, then I sliced that guy open back there..."

She smiled at Johnny. "I haven't had this much fun since I don't know when. I feel like I can finally breathe for once. I don't have to hide myself anymore."

Johnny tried to talk, but no words came forth from his mouth. "Mary...No, don't do this. Go back there now and I'll take the fall for this. I'll say I got loose and you tried to stop me."

She shook her head. "Johnny doesn't know my secret," she giggled, "Johnny doesn't know that I won't be caught no matter what I do. That I can't be caught!"

Her smile faded as she turned her sights back to the road. "I did this to help you, Nny. I'm doing it for you."

"How the hell is THIS going to HELP ME?" he shouted. "Clearly, you're as sick as I am, Mary! The blind is leading the blind!"

April began to laugh again. "Silly boy. We're not sick. We're awake. It's everyone else who are mentally ill. Of all the humans in this world, there are just a handful of us who have opened their eyes. We're alive, Johnny! We aren't a part of that world anymore!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her and fought the urge to jump out of the speeding vehicle. "You sound like Mr. Eff when you spout out all that crap...This isn't you talking, Mary, this is something else...It's almost like when-"

Johnny cut himself short. His eyes-which were huge to begin with-grew larger in size as he slowly turned to stare at April. "Mary...You didn't..."

"Didn't what?" she asked.

"Please, say you didn't!" Johnny exploded. "You couldn't have! Not you! Not like this! DAMN IT!"

He slammed his fist into the glove compartment, causing the door to spring open. A little purple-haired doll rolled out of the console and into Johnny's lap. He stared at it for a moment, shocked by its uncanny resemblance of Devi.

"Mary...Where did you get this...?"

"Oh, there you are, Sickness!" April said with a smile. "How did you get in there?"

Sickness rolled her eyes and glared at the redhead. " 'How did you get in there?' " she mocked April's cheery tone in an irritated voice. "Maybe when you stuffed all those Taco Hell napkins in there?"

"Hm...I thought they felt lumpy," April said thoughtfully. "Oh well! I believe you know Nny already."

Sickness looked up at Johnny, a dark and crooked smile spreading across her face. "Oh, yes...Hello there, Nny. Long time, no see, eh?"

Johnny eyed the doll skeptically, as if he were trying to recall if he knew her or not.

"Oh, you know us, Johnny," she drawled, "It's been, what, six years since we last met...?"

"I think I would remember a talking doll who looks just like Devi," Johnny replied curtly.

"Oh, you wouldn't know us in this form..." Sickness sighed. "Our poor boy has no idea who we are, Mary! Isn't that sad?"

April laughed. "Sad, indeed. Nny, Sickness is actually two old friends of yours sharing a single body."

Johnny stared down at the door, his eyes wider now than ever. "Get off me!" he cried, knocking the doll into the floor of the vehicle.

"How rude!" Sickness snapped, glaring up at him with her empty eyes. "Really, Nny, is that any way to treat your old friends?"

Johnny couldn't help but let out a scornful laugh. "Since when were we ever friends? All you guys ever did was feed off of my misery. You little pricks."

"Oh, c'mon, Nny, don't be so mean," said April.

"Mean?" Johnny's jaw dropped agape. "Mary, did you not read the die-ary? You call ME mean after what THEY did to me?"

"Well..." April shrugged, "You have a point there. But they aren't your problem anymore, and you're going to be seeing a lot of Sickness from now on, so maybe it would be a good thing to make nice now. Please, Nny? For me?" She stuck out her lower lip in a tiny pout.

Johnny winced. There was the April he knew and adored. How was he supposed to say no to that face?

He swallowed hard and shook his head. "Sorry, but no. I'm not about to forgive them for the shit they've done. And you going along with this is stupid! You're stupid, Mary."

"I am not!" she cried, insulted.

Johnny crossed his arms and glared out the window. "Would've been better had you left me in that cell..."

"I thought you wanted to get out!"

"I DID! But not like THIS!" he shouted. "If they find me, Mary, what do you think they'll do to me? I'm not exactly invincible anymore, you know, they could easily slip me the needle or something."

"Oh, like hell that'll happen. If I don't want it to, it won't." April swerved her car into the driveway of Johnny's house.

"What the fuck?" he cried. "I don't want to be anywhere NEAR here! Can't we go somewhere else?"

"Afraid not," she replied. "I'm covered in blood right now, Johnny. I can't very well walk go to my apartment to get cleaned up, which is why I left some clothes here in case I had to get a little nasty. I'll only be a few minutes."

April hopped out of the vehicle and skipped inside the house.

Johnny crossed his arms and sunk down in his seat, trying to stay out of sight.

_All this time, she was trying to help me. Now she can't even save herself. And where does this leave me?_ he wondered.

Sickness was perched on the dashboard, staring at him intently, but not uttering a sound.

"What the FUCK are you staring at?" he snapped at long last, unable to take it any longer.

"You've changed, Nny," she said quietly. "You're not you anymore. You're...calm."

"No thanks to YOU," he growled. "Seeing Mary every day is about the only thing that helped me pull through..."

Johnny winced upon feeling a pang of guilt as he said that. April has given her all to help him, only to be led astray.

"...I don't understand," he muttered. "Whenever I killed someone, it used to upset her a great deal. She would cry for hours over a person she didn't even know...And yet here she is now, doing exactly all the things she used to lecture me about. What happened to her?"

A twisted smirk spread across Sickness's face. "YOU happened, Nny. YOU contaminated her with your disease."

"What the hell does that even mean? How is it my fault?"

"Everyone who has come into contact with you has experienced the illness one way or another. That girl, Devi, was exposed the very night you brought her home with you. The cute little neighbor boy became infected the first time you broke into his house. And that girl caught it when you kidnapped her and chained to the wall in the basement. You're a carrier, Nny. You spread the filth to anyone and everyone you meet."

"She should be stronger, though!" Johnny cried. "She shouldn't have given in so easily!"

"She's been fighting it for years," the doll corrected. "When she first encountered you, her mind had already begun to fray. She was being crushed beneath all the stress of her past. Then you came along and thrust her into your world filled with blood and carnage. Our master sensed her dwindling sense of reason and decided she would be an excellent candidate for his mission. Thus, the master set to work on her. She wasn't like you, Nny. She wouldn't be the sort to resist once IT had a tight grip on her. She's the type who longs for freedom to do as she pleases without consequence and will do whatever it takes to obtain that. She doesn't think of IT's manipulation as such, she sees it as fulfilling her own free will. If only you could have been the same way...You were a good pawn while you lasted."

"PAWN?" Johnny spat, curling his lip into a snarl. "Don't even THINK of calling me such a thing! WHAT is IT plotting to do with Mary? TELL ME!"

He seized the doll by the neck and pinned her against the window of the car, ruining any hope Sickness had of escape.

Sickness just laughed. "Oh, you poor, ignorant little man. We almost feel sorry for you. ALMOST. Freed from the thing that you were once enslaved to, and yet it still seems Master loves to make you suffer. But what can be expected after that little scheme you pulled?"

Johnny growled at her and tightened his grip around her neck. "Stop speaking so evasively and TELL ME, GODDAMMIT!"

This only made Sickness laugh more. "I'm a DOLL, dumbass! I don't require oxygen like you pathetic humans, so threatening me with asphyxiation isn't much of a threat at all!"

"No?" he asked, lifting a skeptical eyebrow at her. "Well, what if I just sliced open that stupid head of yours and plucked out all of your innards? What if I cut out your tongue and fed it to that spooky chihuahua that wanders all over town? Or maybe, just maybe, I'll pluck off your limbs one by one, roast your torso on a spit, and burn your remaining head in the dying flames!"

"You COULD, if you ever got a chance," Sickness snickered. "I doubt Miss Mary would ever allow it."

"She couldn't stop me if she never-" Johnny cut himself short upon seeing April exit his house wearing fresh clothing. His eyes narrowed at Sickness as he allowed her to slip through his fingers and fall to the floor of the car.

"That's better," April sighed as she started the car. "Hey, Nny, you won't mind staying with me, right?"

Johnny felt color flood his cheeks as soon as she asked him. "N-No..." he muttered, shaking his head.

_It would be the best way for me to keep an eye on you, _he added mentally as they started up the street. _Not that I have much of a choice in the matter..._

For a little while after that, it was quiet. Neither Johnny, April, or Sickness spoke a word. The three of them just sat in their seats, enveloped in the awkward silence. It was eventually broken, however, as April once again started to softly hum the same song she'd sung before.

Johnny glanced over at her, his expression melancholy, the music of her voice haunting his mind. He didn't like seeing April this way. This wasn't her. This wasn't the same kind and caring girl who had extended a helping hand to him. She was someone completely different.

Johnny knew that somewhere the April he had come to care so much about was being repressed, pinned down in the darkest corners of her mind.

_She tried to save me,_ he thought, determination growing stronger within his heart, _so the least I can do is try to save her..._

April noticed the look Johnny was giving her and decided to make it known. "What's the matter, Nny? Why are you looking at me like that...?"

"I'm worried," he muttered. "...I don't want to see you wind up like me..."

"Ah, but I won't!" she said cheerfully. "I won't because I have no intention of breaking away from IT. IT promised to protect you as well as me, so long as I am obedient. And I have no problem with that. So I went a little nuts earlier. I was high on the thrill. But I promise, I'm still the same person, Nny. Nothing is going to change, aside from the daily sacrifice I'll have to make, but I'm all right with-"

"Would you quit calling it that?" Johnny interrupted harshly, startling April into silence. "I HATE it when you refer to it as a 'sacrifice'! You make it sound like you worship IT, like it's your pagan god or something. It's disgusting!"

April stared at the road in front of her and shook her head. "I don't worship IT, Nny. But that IS what I'm doing. I'm sacrificing the blood of others to satisfy a supernatural being and keep myself and the people I love safe."

"Your family?" Johnny asked through clenched teeth.

She nodded. "I'm doing all I can so they won't be hurt. Even if it means I have to avoid them...You know, so they won't catch the disease."

"They won't," Sickness said matter-of-factly. "Master is pleased with you, Mary. I'm sure the disease won't be spread from you to your family as long as you continue to be as good as you seem to be."

April breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's a bonus," she murmured. "I can't imagine not being able to see them at all. I don't get to be around them much as it is."

"They won't matter once you lose your sense of reason," Johnny growled under his breath.

Sickness glared at him. "You only have yourself to blame for the way you turned out, Johnny," she snapped. "You fought IT, Nny, and you had to be punished for that."

"Screw off, you little prick," he hissed. "No one was talking to you."

"Johnny, Sickness, be nice," April pleaded. "I don't want you guys to fight..."

Johnny folded his arms across his chest and said no more.

The rest of the ride was spent once again spent in awkward silence. By the time April parked the car at her apartment complex, the tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

She slid out of the vehicle and drew in a large breath of fresh air, relieved that she didn't have to remain in that nerve-wrecking atmosphere any longer.

Johnny wasn't as quick to get out of the car as April was. He sat in his seat, lost in thought.

_I thought I was the crazy one. I thought I was the one who needed help...I suppose I still am, but she's even worse than me right now...I have to make her see that that life is not worth living...But how? What the hell am I supposed to do...?_

Sickness giggled insanely as she crawled into the driver's seat. "You're scared, aren't you, Nny? This is just one more thing you're afraid of losing control over. You've pieced back together your mind, but it's still very fragile. That girl is the only thing that holds you together right now. If she goes, you'll return to the way you were before. Maybe even worse."

Johnny's upper lip curled into a snarl as he reached over and knocked the doll into the floor before leaping out of the car and locking her inside.

"IT won't have Mary. Not if I have anything to say about it," he growled as he walked away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Decay**

April sat still, her eyes fixated on the floor. Johnny sat beside her on the sofa in a similar manner, but his expression was a little more blank than April's.

Neither spoke. They didn't even so much as glance at each other.

The entire apartment was dead silent, so much that one would probably have been able to hear a pin drop. The two homicidal maniacs sat in the midst of it, feeling its chill right to their bones.

They had just had a huge fight, you see, about April's unexpected rampage at the asylum, how she had broken Johnny out, and how she had sold herself to the monster that had once tormented Johnny so many years ago.

April refused to speak because she was afraid that Johnny would just become more angry with her, and Johnny was silent because he was afraid of saying something to April that he would regret.

Half an hour passed before April even moved. She got up from the sofa and disappeared in her bedroom for a few moments before returning with a puzzled expression on her face. She started wandering around the apartment, peeking into cupboards and cabinets, as if searching for something.

Johnny watched her curiously, wondering what she could be looking for. He still didn't speak.

After searching for a while, April heaved an irritated sigh and faced him. "Nny, where is Sickness?" she demanded in a quiet voice.

Johnny shrugged. "She wouldn't be quiet, so I locked her in the car." His reply was cool and careless.

April stiffened and looked as though she might explode again, but instead she grabbed her keys and headed to the door.

Johnny jumped up from the sofa and darted in front of her with almost inhuman speed to block her from leaving the room. "Can't you leave her out there?"

"No. I need her. Now move," she replied bitterly.

"Please, Mary," he whispered. "You don't understand, her influence will just make you sicker."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do, Nny. Get out of my way." April tried to remain resolute, but it was obvious that she was having a hard time doing so.

"I'll chain you to the wall if you won't listen to reason," he said.

She looked away from him and stared at the floor for a few moments before speaking again. "You're afraid of her, aren't you? You're scared that if she's around, you'll go back to being the way you used to be."

He raised an eyebrow at her at the mentioning of him being 'afraid' of Sickness. "No. I just don't want it to happen to you, too...What happened to me, I mean."

April sighed. "...Goddamn it, Nny," she groaned, "I don't know what it is, but even when I'm pissed off at you, I can't tell you no."

Johnny's mouth turned up in a small smile. "So, you'll leave her there?"

"For a while. But I have to go back and get her sometime, okay?"

"...Yeah, okay."

Once again, both of them fell into silence, but it wasn't angry and awkward like the one that had preceded it.

Finally, after the passing of several minutes, April opened her mouth speak. She was interrupted by the ringing of her telephone, however, which caused her and Johnny both to nearly jump out of their skin.

April scrurried across the room to answer it. "Hello...?"

"April!" Xin's voice cried on the other line. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what...?" she asked cautiously.

"Nick's dead! DEAD!" her stepsister exclaimed. "Turn on your TV. It's all over the news!"

April's stomach twisted itself into a knot as she reached for the television remote. Her mouth dropped agape when she saw Nick's death being broadcast on nearly every news station. A security camera outside the coffee shop where she had met him caught Nick stumbling out into the street, but the shot miraculously angled so April was cut out of the picture. She gasped when she saw the clip being shown repeatedly on nearly every network.

Johnny joined her in front of the television. A tiny maniacal giggle found its way out of his mouth as he watched the footage being broadcast. "Poor fucker. I'd like to know who he was unfortunate enough to cross," he snickered.

April spun around and darted into her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

"April? You still there?" asked Xin.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm still here," she murmured.

"Can you believe it? I mean, he was pushed obviously..."

"Yeah...Obviously..."

"You okay? You sound kind of outta it," Xin said.

"I am a little tired," April lied. "Xin, do Mom and Dad know about this?"

"Of course," the younger girl replied. "Charlotte is the one who showed Dad and me."

April swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "What's their take?"

"Charlotte's all worked up. Dad doesn't seem to think much. All he said was 'What a horrible way to go,' and left it at that."

April actually smiled. Sean always managed to do that to her, even when he wasn't around.

"You okay, Sis?" asked Xin after a short period of silence.

"Fine," April answered. "I'll talk to you later, Xin. Okay?"

"Fine by me. Dad and Charlotte talked about dropping by later to see ya anyway."

"...Um...Okay...Just let me know when you're coming."

"Will do. See you later, then?"

"Yeah. See you."

April hung up the phone and exited the room. Johnny had seated himself in front of the television, giggling like a schoolboy each time he saw Nick get plowed by a speeding vehicle.

"Johnny, we need to talk," April said as she dropped the phone back into its cradle.

Johnny turned to her, his grin fading. "About what...?"

"My mother, stepfather, and stepsister might be coming to visit me later. If they show up, we're going to need a story as to who you are and why you're staying here with me," she said, folding her arms across her chest nervously.

"Oh, hell."

Johnny's eyes were even wider than what they usually were now. He scratched his head in uncertainty and stared at his feet.

"You know what they're going to think," April reminded him.

He nodded. "...And I guess we should let them."

"You're forgetting that I just turned down a marriage proposal last night," she said, running an uneasy hand through her red hair. "My mother will lose her head when she presumes that I was with Nick while seeing another man. I mean, I can count on my fingers the times that she and everyone else have been to this apartment since I moved in, so it's going to be a very believable story, but I don't want them thinking I'm some kind of promiscuous slut..."

Johnny frowned. "So then what are we going to tell them?"

"I don't know!" April sank onto the sofa, her face pale with worry. "Xin will know something is up, anyway. The fact that she's never met you or even heard of you will alarm her. She'll know that we're hiding something..."

"Just cancel the whole thing," he suggested. "You'll be able to avoid the conflict, and your family won't know about me. Everyone wins."

She shook her head. "And disappoint them like that? I don't care so much if Mom gets upset or not; I'm pissed at her as it is. But I can't take it out on Sean and Xin. Maybe I can just tell them you're a colleague of mine-" She cut herself short when she saw the look on Johnny's face. "What?"

"Look at me, Mary. Do you honestly believe that I'm going to pass as your peer?" he demanded.

April was quiet as she looked him over.

It was true, with his unkept hair, the gothic apparell, and steel-toed boots, Johnny could never reasonably pass as someone of April's profession. And if his appearance didn't give him away, his mannerisms certainly would. His face was worn with stress, his eyes bloodshot and teeming with a deeply rooted maliciousness. Even April sometimes couldn't bear looking into those eyes when that inner malevolence was shining through them.

She sighed. "Well, then I guess we're going with plan A...Are you comfortable with that?"

Johnny shifted uncomfortably on his feet, but shrugged. "What choice do we have if you won't avoid the situation? ...Just don't make me do anything disgusting or embarrassing, got it?"

April managed to smile at him. "Got it."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to April and Johnny, the floor in April's closet began to creak and groan. Its wooden surface was rippling like water after a stone is tossed in the midst of it. A face appeared in the disturbance, with sickly yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth. The creature's mouth turned upward into a wry and devious smile as it observed its surroundings. It chuckled darkly before sinking back into the floor, leaving it as though nothing had ever been there to begin with...

"Hi, you guys," April greeted her family warmly upon opening the door. "Come on in. I ordered take-out, but it's not here yet, so we can just catch up a little until it is."

Xin was the first to bound into the apartment, followed by Sean and finally Charlotte.

"You've redecorated since we last were here, April," Sean remarked as he settled next to Charlotte on the sofa.

April's mother had yet to say anything to her daughter. She merely sat still beside her husband, glancing around the apartment.

"So, April, did you hear about-"

Sean stopped talking abruptly at that moment, staring with wide eyes at Johnny, who had just entered the room.

April swallowed hard when she saw the stunned looks on each of her family members' faces. This was not going to be a pleasant evening, she could just tell.

Johnny managed a smile at the newcomers, even though it was stressed out and worn, as all of his facial expressions seemed to be. "Hello there. You must be Mar-April's-family." The look on his face was humorous, as though not calling April by the name 'Mary' made him feel guilty somehow.

"Yes..." Sean replied carefully. "And you are...?"

"Johnny. I..uh...Met M-April...when she first started college..." he said, trying to sound as normal as possible. "We're old friends."

Charlotte was staring at him with an incrdulous face that would normally be considered rude by most modern etiquette sticklers. "Funny that she's never mentioned you," she said skeptically.

"Mom, I have a lot of old college friends that I've never told you about," April informed, trying to make light of the situation.

"Oh, you mean all of the old partying, binge drinking, marijuana smoking hellions? Well, I guess no self-respecting girl would tell her mother about friends like that."

"MOM!" April's mouth dropped agape in shock, her face turning a deep scarlet. She could feel Johnny's heated stare from his position behind her. She never had told him about her past before, after all, so this news was a surprise to him.

"I can assure you that aside from the purpose of curing illnesses, I have never touched drugs," Johnny told Charlotte, a slight edge coming through his voice.

"Oh, I never said YOU did, dear," she retorted in a sickly sweet voice.

"Charlotte..." Sean gave her a look that suggested she stop.

Johnny was glowering at her. A nasty feeling was welling up inside of him, a feeling he had not felt for a very long time. It was hot and malicious-the urge to see this woman's fresh blood splattered all over the floor before him.

_Consider yourself lucky, lady, since you are Mary's mother,_ he thought heatedly.

"Mom, come on, don't start," April pleaded quietly. "Johnny is a very close friend of mine. I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about him that way, especially when he's right in front of you."

"Well, tell us, April, is this the reason why you rejected Nick's proposal? That poor boy, may his soul rest in peace..." Charlotte murmured as she, being a faithful Catholic woman, crossed her chest.

Xin rolled her eyes in disgust. "Please, he got what was coming to him, Charlotte. A guy who was so supposedly perfect had to have had some enemies. My guess is he fucked with the wrong person."

"Watch your language, missy," Sean scolded. "What have I told you about that word?"

"It's a WORD, Dad. Words never caused physical harm to anyone. Except old people. Some words give them heart attacks."

Johnny snorted in an attempt to restrain the urge to laugh.

Xin noticed and grinned up at him. "So, you met April in college? What have you been doing since graduation?"

"Oh...I didn't 'graduate' per se..." he replied awkwardly. "I'm...an artist..."

"Really?" The girl was instantly interested. "What do you like to do? Draw? Paint? Everything?"

"Uhh..." Johnny glanced at April, who smiled and nodded for him to go on.

"I paint," he told Xin after gaining reassurance from the redhead.

"Do you? I'm not very good. Maybe you could give me some tips?" she asked eagerly.

"Um...Sure..."

April smiled when she saw how nicely the two were getting along. Xin had warmed right up to Johnny, and he didn't seem to mind her company. She just hoped her mother would have enough integrity to not make Johnny or her past a subject of conversation.

"Anyone want a drink?" she asked, referring to Charlotte and Sean.

Her stepfather nodded. "Yeah, I think I could use one..."

"If you've got champegne," Charlotte said.

April sighed. "No, Mom, I don't have any."

Everything just had to be so fancy and high class with her mother. That's just how Charlotte was. It had annoyed April since she was a child.

Charlotte followed April into the kitchen when the latter went to fetch the drinks.

"What the hell, April? Who IS that boy out there?" she hissed.

"I told you, Nny is a close friend of mine," April replied, choosing her words carefully. "And I really did NOT appreciate you speaking to him that way. I understand that my rejection of Nick infuriated you, but that had nothing to do with Johnny."

_Liar,_ her own voice snapped in her head. _Two-thirds of the reason was because of him!_

She winced and mentally shooed away the thought.

"So what is he doing here?" demanded Charlotte.

April heaved an exasperated sigh. "He was in the neighborhood, Mom. I invited him over so we could talk and just catch up."

"What kind of 'friends' are you, anyhow?"

"MOM!" April slammed down the bottle of wine in her hand and faced her mother full on. "I'm not a child anymore. What I do and who I do it with is none of your business!"

"So are you INTIMATE friends?" Charlotte asked suspiciously. "I haven't seen you with a man that grungy..."

"Mom, you're starting to piss me off. If you came here just to criticize me, maybe you should just go home." April shoved a glass of wine into her mother's hand before moving to rejoin the others in the living room. "Nny and I don't share that sort of relationship. We're just very close friends. That's all."

Her mother gave her another look of disbelief as she followed after her, but she spoke no more.

In the next room, April was relieved to find that Xin and Sean were getting along rather nicely with Johnny. Xin had gotten him to draw little doodles on notebook paper-mostly of the star of his comic strip, Happy Noodle Boy.

"So, YOU'RE the guy who writes Noodle Boy?" Xin was asking excitedly. "My friends and I read it all the time! It's always so funny."

Johnny actually smiled a little at her as he jotted down another sketch. "I was starting to think only nutjobs and hobos read it," he admitted. "It's kind of nice to see civilized people enjoy the randomness as well."

Xin giggled. "Who said I was civilized? By the way, how come there hasn't been any new Noodle comics for so long? Did you get burned out or something?"

"Oh..." Johnny looked thoughtful, "I guess you could say that."

Xin pouted for a moment before brightening up again. "Maybe I could help you out? I'm pretty random, you know. Just ask anyone who knows me!"

"Really?" Johnny grinned. "Huh. Well, maybe you could give me an idea or two."

"Yeah! Like...Have you ever thought of having Noodle Boy pose as a traffic cop? I think that has some hilarious potential."

"Um...Well, no. But maybe I could try it."

"You should! I can just see it now-" Xin stood up and started making goofy and elaborate movements, as though she were trying to direct imaginary traffic, "-Go forth and run over the piggies! Why do you hesitate to heed my glorious commands? SOMEONE BRING ME A GODDAMNED TACO! BEWARE THE BEAN PASTE FOR IT WILL DEVOUR YOUR HOMEWORK! ...Or some random shit like that. I dunno, I'm not funny when I try to be."

Johnny just smiled and even laughed a little at her Noodle Boy impression. "It's a start."

April grinned as she sat down on the sofa between Johnny and Sean. "Well, you all seem to be having fun."

"Yup!" Xin beamed, and she continued to talk with Johnny about comic strips and other things.

"So, April," Sean began quietly, so as not to interrupt his daughter's conversation with her new friend, "how are you holding up...?"

"What?" April looked confused. "What do you mean...?"

"Well, we came by to check on you," he said. "You know, after what happened to Nick and all that..."

"Oh."

April's eyes dropped to the floor. "Yeah, I saw on TV...what happened..."

_Not that I really care..._

"Well, that's a better reaction than I had expected," Charlotte sneered, speaking up at last. "I was wondering if you even cared, April."

Her daughter shot a dark glare at her, as if she were ready to tear out her own mother's throat.

"I might not have loved him, Mom, but that doesn't mean that I didn't CARE. His death is a tragedy. I hope that his poor parents are all right..."

_Not that I care about THEM, either._

"I suppose you're regretting not marrying him now, right?" Charlotte queried. "After all, had you been his fiancee, you might have gotten some of that money."

"What the-? That's all he was to YOU!" April was furious. There were times when she couldn't stand her mother's superficiality, and this was one of those times.

"That's the only reason why you're so pissed off that I broke up with him! You were hoping that I would get into that money and you could leech off of me for the rest of your life! You make so sick sometimes, you know that? I could just...Just...!"

She drew in a sharp breath and steadied herself before saying out loud what she was thinking. The same voice as before was talking to her again-her own voice, that of which had told her to murder her former boyfriend.

_No...I can't. I may hate her, and she may piss me off, but she is my mother. I can't kill her. Especially in front of Dad and Xin._

_***Ah, such an endearing sentiment,***_ the voice said. _***But might I remind you that so far, you have not held up your end of the bargain. You have not fed your new master. Master needs to feed in order to protect you and your precious loved ones.***_

_Feed...?_ April wondered. _Meaning I have to paint my walls with blood like Nny did...?_

_***Not the walls. Too obvious, yes. The floor in your closet will do nicely.***_

_The closet..._ April felt a knot form in her stomach. _There is a monster...in my closet...?_

_***You could call it that,***_ the voice chuckled.

"Just what, April?" Charlotte asked, breaking the younger woman's thoughts.

April snapped her attention back to the current situation to see everyone staring at her. Xin was hiding a smile, amused that her stepsister had called Charlotte out. Sean looked concerned for his stepdaughter, and Charlotte's expression was a combination of fury and impatience.

And then April's eyes landed on Johnny. His gaze was intense, his eyes narrowed, as if trying to advise her to calm down. But underneath all of that, April saw what she could have interpreted to be worry. Given the arguement she and Johnny had had before the arrival of her family, she knew that he must be afraid that she would kill so brazenly.

She shook her head. "Nothing...I think it would be better if you left, though, Mom."

She stepped to the door and opened it. "I'm sorry. I'm dealing with too much right now...Maybe we should try getting together another time."

"...All right, April. Another time, then," Charlotte murmured. "I shall talk to later."

Without another word, she exited the apartment, not so much as bothering to wait for her husband and stepdaughter.

"Can't I stay?" Xin asked, pouting.

"I think it would be better if you came home," Sean replied, standing from his position on the sofa. "I'm...I'm sorry to see you under such stress, April. Feel better soon, all right?"

He hugged her before motioning for Xin to follow him out the door. "And it was nice to meet you, Mr. C.," he said to Johnny, almost forgetting that the younger man was there.

"Yeah! I hope we can hang out again," Xin added, grinning up at him before hugging April and leaving with her father.

"It was nice to meet you, too," Johnny said, waving goodbye to them.

April shut the door once they had gone and released a prolonged groan. "That could NOT have gone any worse! ...I need a drink."

She disappeared into the kitchen and Johnny followed.

"So," he began as she poured herself a glass of wine, "that guy that got run over by a car was your ex-boyfriend, huh? Dunno why I didn't figure it out sooner..."

"Yeah." April took a long drink from the glass, draining nearly half of its contents in one gulp. "You want some?"

"No, thanks," Johnny shook his head. "I find alcohol to be rather repulsive."

"More for me," she muttered, finishing the first glass and pouring another. "I hate my mother so much...She's always embarrassing me like that...If I could, I would just-"

"Kill her?" he finished. "I saw the look in your eyes before...Can't say I like that look on your face."

"I could, though. Push her in the streets like Nick, or maybe hang her by her own precious gold and silver..." April was glowering at what appeared to be nothing in particular. She downed another gulp of wine before slamming her glass onto the counter.

The suddenness of the movement and noise made Johnny jump, and he seemed a little wary of her. "You're tired, Mary. Why don't you call it a night?"

"I'm fine." April topped off her wine and drank it. "I just need to calm down a little is all..."

"Well, that stuff isn't going to help you do that..." Johnny gestured to the bottle.

"What would you know, if you don't drink it?" she snapped. "It's what has kept me calm for ten years, Nny. You don't know what calms me down."

As she started to pour yet another glass, Johnny gently reached out and took the bottle from her. "Ten years? You're lucky you aren't suffering from liver issues. I think you've had enough of this." He removed the cork from the bottle and began dumping its contents into the sink.

"Nny, don't!" April cried. "Stop that!"

She reached for the bottle, but Johnny easily held her back as he emptied it.

"There. Now you don't have any temptation," he said, tossing it into the trashcan.

"That stuff isn't exactly CHEAP, you know!" she growled. "Why'd you do that?"

"You don't need that garbage, Mary. Your brain cells harbor to much intelligence for you to just kill them off with alcohol."

April growled in annoyance and stomped back into the living room, muttering angrily to herself.

Like before, Johnny followed, concerned for the redhead. "Are you going to be all right?"

April had flopped onto the sofa, her face buried in its pillows. She shrugged in response to his question.

Johnny rolled his eyes and sat next to her. "I could be wrong, but it seems to me that you're beginning to understand what you've gotten yourself into. It's a bitch, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Another shrug.

Johnny sighed. "Mary, you can't keep this up. It's only been a day and already you've begun to crack. How do you expect to live this way for the remainder of your life if you're this fragile?"

No response.

"Mary...?" Johnny shook her shoulder, but she still didn't move.

Fearful that something was wrong, he rolled her over to check her breathing. It was then that he realized April had fallen asleep.

He exhaled sharply, ashamed of himself for worrying about her so easily. "I guess you're tired...Either that or you just drank yourself unconscious."

Of course, April didn't answer him and slumbered on. The entire apartment was silent, allowing Johnny's thoughts to gather themselves together as he watched her sleep. It made him wonder how much longer it would be before she fell into the same level of mental decay as he.

_I swore to Sickness that she and IT wouldn't torment her the way they did to me,_ he thought. _But the more I sit here and think about it, I don't know what I'm supposed to do...If there was a way to get rid of IT...But how...?_

As he sat and thought, Johnny realized something.

"Oh, yeah...Sickness is still locked in Mary's car..." he snickered to himself. "...Eh, she can wait until morning."

He then scooped April up in his arms and carried her to her room. She barely even stirred in her sleep as he laid her on the bed.

Johnny smiled at her before turning to leave the room. As he passed the closet door, he felt a strange and familiar feeling in his stomach, sending chills up his spine.

Hesitantly, he turned the knob on the door and opened it, peering inside the tiny space within. He switched on the light and looked around, feeling more uneasy now that ever before.

After staring for about fifteen minutes, Johnny left the closet alone, though he didn't like the feeling that area gave him. Trying to shrug it off and convince himself it was nothing, he headed into the living room to watch television.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Johnny C.'s Day Off**

The next morning, Johnny jumped upon hearing a loud THUD! erupt from April's bedroom. He leaped up from the sofa and dashed into the room, his heart pounding with fear. "Mary, what's-AGH!"

He ducked as a boot sailed through the air in his direction, allowing it to plow into the wall instead of his face. It dropped to the floor along with several other items of apparell.

"What the hell are you DOING?" he asked, peeking into the closet.

April was rummaging around inside, tossing out everything that covered the floor into the actual room.

"I have to clean this place out...I figured out that this is where IT wants to feed," she replied, throwing out more stuff.

Johnny stiffened. "How did you come to that conclusion...?"

April paused for a moment, then shrug. "I dunno. I just know somehow..." she muttered as she started sorting things out again. "Hey, Nny, can you go out to the car and get Sickness?"

"...In a minute," Johnny murmured. "How are you feeling today?"

"Eh, I'm all right...I'm sorry for falling out on you..."

"Don't worry about it. You had a rough evening yesterday."

April sat back on the floor and let out a long breath. "...I've got to get blood today. The floor was growling at me a minute ago..."

Johnny flinched at the thought of that spine-chilling sound, memories flooding his mind.

_All the things I did because of that sound..._ he thought, sickened.

And here was April in front of him, about to embark upon the same path to self-destruction that he had tred so long ago.

_I don't even know what to do...I don't know how to get her out of it or anything...I have no clue where I could even start!_

April stood up and stretched. "Oh, forget about Sickness, Nny. I'm going out anyway. She can just come with me."

"Where are you going?" Johnny asked instantly, his concern piqued.

She shrugged. "I have to get blood now for IT. If I don't, something tells me that I won't like the consequences."

"I'll come, too," he said.

"No, I think it would be best if you stayed behind. I don't want you to be tempted to start killing again," April shook her head.

"Hypocrite," Johnny muttered, following her into the kitchen. "Well, what am I supposed to do all day if you're gonna be gone? You can't leave me here by myself with that...THING."

"You won't be by yourself," she replied simply, pouring herself a mug of coffee.

"Huh...?"

"You heard me-" April was interrupted by a knock at the apartment door. "That must be her."

"...'Her'...?" Johnny cocked an eyebrow at April. " 'Her' who?"

April opened the door to reveal who stood on the other side.

"Hi, Johnny!" Xin said enthusiastically as she bounded into the apartment. "April called me over to keep you company for the day!"

"Is that so..." Johnny turned to April. "Really. You want a teenager to babysit me."

April just smiled at him and slung her purse over her shoulder. "I'll be back later. Try to have fun, okay?"

She hugged Johnny warmly and ruffled Xin's hair as she walked out the door. "Have a good time, guys. Try not to destroy my apartment, please."

"No need to worry about us, sis. See ya!" Xin called after her.

Johnny shifted on his feet nervously as April's stepsister closed the door and faced him. "So, uh...What are we supposed to do...?"

Xin shrugged. "Whatever we want, I guess." She turned a cartwheel suddenly, just barely scathing the coffee table in the process, and bounced into the bedroom. "Holy damn, what the hell happened back here? Did April's closet explode or something? Where did she put her Play Station?"

Johnny followed Xin closely in order to make sure she didn't go near the closet. "I don't think Mary has one of those..."

"Yes, she does. She just never uses it. Oh, if she sold it, I am gonna be PISSED!" Xin wormed her way underneath the bed and disappeared completely.

Johnny stooped to the floor and peeked under the bed at her. "Don't you think it's kinda rude to go through her belongings like that?"

"Nah, she doesn't care. I'm not Nick, I won't sort through it all looking for love notes from other guys or some crazy shit like that."

"...Am I to understand that that Nick fellow partook his such bad habits?"

"Oh, yeah. The guy was a complete nutjob. I'm glad he's dead," Xin replied. "I just wish I could have at least been there when it happened. I'm soooo jealous of the lucky bastard that got to push him."

Johnny allowed himself a brief smile at this, but only because the teenager under the bed couldn't see it.

"Has April even talked about it?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Nick's death, goober."

"...'Goober'...?" Johnny cocked an eyebrow at her before answering her query. "No, Mary hasn't said much about it. Why?"

"Just wonderin'," Xin muttered, crawling out from beneath the bed. "Why do you keep calling her 'Mary', anyway?"

Johnny blushed a light pink. "It was a joke...Before we were properly introduced, I just started calling her that because of her hair."

Xin snickered at him. "Because it's red? That's kinda lame."

"Yeah, maybe, but it just stuck. Even after I knew her name, I couldn't bring myself to call her anything else." Johnny shrugged.

Xin skipped out of the bedroom and back into the main area of the apartment. "How'd you guys meet, anyway?"

"Uhh..." Johnny felt a knot turn in his stomach. "Well...A-At the mall, back when she was in college..."

That wasn't a complete lie, after all. The mall was where he and April had had their first encounter, though no words had been exchanged between them at the time.

"What happened?" Xin asked eagerly.

"...Why do you want to know?"

"Because as April's sister, it's my job to know everything about you two and to decide whether or not you're good for her!"

"Wha-?" Johnny's mouth fell slightly agape. He shook his head violently. "No. It's nothing like that between us."

"Pfffft, dude, I go to high school. I can tell when a guy and a girl have a thing going. Besides, even if that weren't the case, how else would you explain why you're living together?"

"...Touche," he muttered. "But can't we talk about something else?"

"Not right now, no," Xin answered with a devious smile.

Johnny's left eye twitched slightly in irritation. He marched to the sofa and plopped down. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"How come?"

"I just don't."

"Aw, c'mon, Nny!" she whined. "Did you guys go party or something? April used to party like no tomorrow when she was in school...Course, Charlotte kind of let you in on that one..."

"It's hard to believe a woman like that is Mary's mother. She's so...repulsive," Johnny muttered.

"Tell me something I don't know," Xin replied.

An awkward silence fell between them for several minutes before she spoke up again.

"Nny, I told my friends that I met you...One of them claims to even know you."

Johnny turned his full attention to Xin now, his curiosity piqued. "Oh yeah? And who would that be?"

"His name's Todd, but most of the people at school call him Squee. He said you used to live next door to him. You're the guy who broke into his house when he was a little kid screaming about bactine or something."

"Squeegee?" He had to grin. "Yeah, I did live next door to him. That was when we first met. I had to break in, though. The window was locked."

Xin cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly a little disturbed by his logic. "Uh-huh...So anyway, they really would like to meet you. Wanna go out and say hi?"

"...Dunno if leaving the apartment without Mary is a good idea," Johnny muttered.

"You'll be with me!" she said. "Come on, it'll be fun. We won't be gone that long." She bounded to the door and opened it. "April said you like Brain Freezies. I like them, too. You wanna meet them at the 24/7 and get one?"

A smile spread across Johnny's face. "I can't resist an offer like that. Let's get going!"

They both dashed outside of the apartment, locking the door behind them in the process.

Neither of them heard the low growling that sounded from the bedroom closet as they left...

Xin cringed at the loud slurping noise ringing from Johnny's cup as he tried to suck every last bit of his Brain Freezy through his straw. "I think you drained it all there, buddy."

Johnny peeked at the bottom of the cup, inspecting it carefully. "Nope! There's still a tiny bit in there!" he said, commencing the slurping once again.

Xin rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile at him. "You're like a big kid, you know that?" she giggled. "It's about time April got such a laid back guy as nice as you."

"I thought I made it clear that I'm not her boyfriend," he said distractedly, determined to finish every drop of his icy beverage.

"Even if you're not, I can tell she likes you."

Johnny shook his head. "Mary and I are just friends, and that's all we'll ever be."

"...So then why're you guys living together...?" she asked, confused.

"Because I lost my house, so to speak, and she took me in because she's nice like that."

"So...then you're going to move out...?"

"Probably. Eventually." Johnny managed to finally finish off his Freezy and tossed the cup into a nearby trash bin.

Xin looked disappointed. "Do you even LIKE April that way?"

"You're kinda nosey, aren't you, kid?" he asked, laughing at her.

"I just want to know," she muttered. "...But I still think you two have something going on, even if you won't tell me about it."

"You're free to think what you want, but that's not gonna change the truth...Where are your friends, anyway? I don't think staying out here too long is a good idea." Johnny began looking around, hoping to spot Xin's friends himself. He pictured a group of goofy punk-goth teenagers that dressed in a similar fashion to Xin herself-Brightly colored hair (Xin's was pink), band tees, and lots of spiked accessories. His only hope was that they wouldn't be a bunch of morons who would scream Happy Noodle Boy quotes at him. It was bad enough to walk down the street and hear random hobos doing that.

"Xin!" called a boy's voice from behind them.

Johnny and Xin turned to see five teens-three boys and two girls-approaching them. The one who had called to Xin was in the front of the group. His head was exceptionally large and he wore a long black trenchcoat and glasses. His hair was black, with a large portion of it forming a spikey hooklike figure over his head.

"WOW," Johnny muttered, "I wonder how much of that extra headspace is filled with brains..."

"Not much," Xin snickered. "Hey, Dib!" She waved the group over to them.

"This is him?" the boy asked, staring up at Johnny. He was only a few inches shorter than the older man. "You wrote Noodle Boy?"

"Yup!" Johnny replied proudly. "You read it too?"

"Not like Xin does, but yeah. I read it. My name's Dib Membrane. Nice to meet you. And that's my sister, Gaz," Dib held out his hand, gesturing to the purple haired girl with his eyes.

Johnny was hesitant but he shook it anyway. *Membrane, huh? That can't be a coincidence...Better be careful around those two,* he thought.

"My name is Vyx!" the blunette girl bounded forward to also shake Johnny's hand. "I'll say it, I'm so excited that I get to meet you!" She grinned broadly at Johnny before stepping back.

Johnny turned to the other two boys. He instantly recognized the taller of the two as his former neighbor, Todd Casil.

"Hey, Squeegee!" he said cheerfully. "Long time, no see!"

Todd nodded and stared at his feet. "...I thought you were supposed to go away forever, Nny..." he said quietly.

Johnny's smile faded instantly. "...Yeah. I was...but there was a change in plan. I'm living with Mary now."

"You mean April. I never knew she and Mary were the same person..." Todd murmured.

He stepped forward and managed a smile at Johnny. "But it's good to see you, Nny. I got kinda lonely after you went away..."

"Sorry, kid." Johnny ruffled his hair apologetically.

"So, YOU'RE Johnny C.," the shorter boy spoke up suddenly. His voice was cold, stiff, lacking any sort of emotion.

Johnny eyed him warily, hesitant to respond to him. After all, there was something about this kid that felt familiar to him.

"That's me," he replied slowly after several moments.

"My name is Pepito. I believe you were acquainted with my father several years ago," the boy said.

"...And your father would be...?" Johnny prompted, hoping that it wasn't someone that he had slaughtered in the past.

"My father is Senor Satan," Pepito answered matter-of-factly.

"Aw, not THAT again, Pepito," groaned Xin. "You can't just walk around declaring that your dad is Satan."

"You know he is! You've met him!" Pepito shouted, pointing dramatically at the pinkette, his eyes bulging insanely.

Xin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I have, I know," she sighed.

"Anyway, Father has really been wanting to speak to you again," Pepito said, turning once more to Johnny. "He's been acting rather strangely as of late. I think it's related to you somehow."

"...Me?" Johnny cocked an eyebrow at him. "I haven't done anything in a long time. What would he want with ME?"

"I could tell you now, but it would be best not to discuss it in front of the others," the younger boy shrugged. "But if you could, I would like for you to stop by my house this evening to talk with him...I do know it involves a certain woman you've become attached to."

Johnny's already wide eyes grew a little larger as he stared at the Antichrist. "You mean Mary." It wasn't a question.

"The hell you can't discuss it around us!" Xin cried. "April is my sister, Pepito! What's going on with her...?"

Pepito sighed. "You're always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, Xin. Just this once, let it go."

"Fuck NO!" she shouted. "What's wrong with April? Tell me, damn it!"

When Pepito didn't respond, she whirled around to face Johnny. "You! You have to have some idea as to what's up. Is this related to why April's been acting so damn weird lately? I thought it might have been because of her breakup with Nick or because you moved in with her, but if there's something else going on, you'd better tell me about it right now!"

Johnny swallowed hard, wishing heavily that Pepito had not mentioned the current subject around Xin. It was only natural that the girl would be concerned for the only sibling she'd ever known, but he didn't want her to be involved with the chaos that was sure to come in the near future.

"Xin...I think it would be for the best that you listen to Pepito. Please?" he said at last.

Xin crossed her arms and glared at him, the look in her eyes rather blatantly stating that she would rather drop dead.

Johnny groaned. "What is it with me and the uncanny ability to attract women to getting into trouble?"

"I'll find out what's going on eventually, even if you don't tell me," Xin threatened. "You better start talking."

"...Not here, and certainly not now," he replied. "I want to speak to...Senor Satan..." he spat the name as though it were a piece of filth upon his tongue, "...before we discuss anything. Okay?"

Xin pouted for a brief moment before resuming her former determination. "Then I'll go with you. If April's in trouble, then I want to help her."

Johnny heaved an exasperated sigh, shaking his head at the girl. "You're more stubborn than Mary ever has been. What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing! You're gonna let me do as I please," she giggled. "After all, I'm the one who's looking after YOU. Not the other way around. Right, Nny?"

He rolled his eyes at her before turning back to Pepito. "So when should I go to your place?"

"Before you decide to head home," Pepito answered. "You don't want your precious little Mary to find out you left her place, right?"

"..." Johnny winced at the thought of walking in April's apartment after she reached home.

_She would be furious, _he thought.

"Yeah, all right. I'll go now, then."

The Antichrist seemed to approve and then turned to the rest of the group. "I think it would be best if all of you went on home...Except for you, Dib. Johnny might require your assistance."

Dib was surprised. "Mine? What for?"

"You're well in tune with the supernatural, are you not?"

"You know I am!" The taller boy was now fully interested in what he was being offered.

"And you, Todd," Peptio said to his closest friend, "Bring over that creepy bear of yours. You know, the one that talks."

"...Shmee?" Todd flinched at the mentioning of his childhood companion. "Why do you want Shmee? You're not going to try to burn him again, are you?"

"No, no. But he seems knowledgable about these things. Bring him over so we can talk."

Todd didn't seem too keen on the suggestion, but he agreed to it anyway. "...Okay, Pepito..." he sighed, staring at the ground.

"Excellent. I'll expect everyone at my house at four o'clock. Until then, I have other matters to see to. Later." Pepito waved dismissively at the group as he took his leave.

"...What a little prick," Johnny muttered, making Xin giggle.

Dib was giving him a rather curious look. "So, what's all this paranormal business that he was talking about? What's April got to do with it?"

"...You'll just have to hear it when we go to Pepito's," Johnny muttered. "What am I supposed to do until four?"

"Ooh! Ooh! We could shoot paintball guns at random pedestrians!" Xin suggested excitedly. "Load them with red paint, and aim to the head! We can pretend they're ZOMBIES!"

"Goddamn, Xin, who in their right mind gave you sugar?" sighed Gaz.

"I did," Johnny replied, smirking. "But I'm not quite in my right mind, so my offense can go unexcused, right?"

"...Yeah, whatever."

"I got the guns at my house! C'mon, Nny, c'mon!" Xin yelled, pulling him down the street.

"Don't pull so hard!" he whined as she led him away.

A few hours later, Johnny, Xin, Dib, and Todd all sat in the living room of Pepito's house.

The agonized screams of the damned echoed from the bowels of the basement beneath their feet, giving Johnny an aching urge to slaughter a few unfortuante souls for his own guilty pleasure.

He shook the thought off and pinched his own arm as a means of getting a grip on himself. After all, he hadn't killed anyone in months-maybe even in a year or so-and he did not exactly wish to get back into the habit.

Xin sat next to him, looking rather anxious. Her knees were pressed to her chest as she stared at the floor, obviously deep in thought.

Dib was poring over some book on demons, while Todd sat on the opposite side of Johnny, his teddy bear Shmee perched upon his lap.

Johnny curled his lip in a subtle disgusted snarl at Shmee, having an intense dislike for the toy. It had insulted him once, you see, and they had not been on good terms since the incident.

"Stop glaring at me," the bear snapped after several moments. "It's not like I will combust into flames if you do."

"How about I rip out your stuffing again, eh, you singular-toothed fuck?" Johnny retorted.

Todd stared at him with wide eyes and cradled the bear against his chest. "Don't do that, Nny! It took forever to fix him when you did that the last time!"

"Could you all settle down?" Pepito sighed as he and his father entered the room. He took a seat in an easy chair next to the sofa.

Senor Satan eyed the group carefully, his sights landing on Johnny last. He grinned, showing a set of razor-sharp teeth. "Well, well, Mr. C., we meet once again."

Johnny cocked an eyebrow at him. "You're not gonna make yourself look like a cheerleader again, are you?"

Satan just laughed. "Not today, I'm afraid. We have far more important things at hand than my amusement."

He snapped his fingers and a large horned armchair sprang out of the floor across from the sofa. "Now, then, allow me to address the current situation, shall I? No doubt you haven't forgotten about our last conversation concerning your little house guest and your job as a flusher, right?"

Johnny glowered at him. "No. Not hardly."

"Very good, then I do not have to brief you on that a second time." The Devil seemed most pleased. "Moving along, then; I suppose you are aware that the creature is inhabiting the closet floor of your precious little April Black?"

"...Yeah. I'm aware," he muttered.

"Do you know WHY it's there, then?"

"...Because IT's doing to Mary what it did to me..."

"...Something like that. Only this time, I'm afraid it's much more than just using the girl for a meal ticket."

"...What's IT doing to her, then...?" Johnny was growing wary.

"I couldn't hazard a guess," Satan murmured. "But it's far more than the lust for human blood. I have reason to suspect that this...IT, as you call it, might be trying to join in the competition for becoming the main influence upon the world. Well, I can assure you, sir, I am not ready to give up that title just yet."

"What do you mean 'competition'?" asked Johnny. "You're the only one who DOES anything. If you're referring to the chubby Buddha man-child that I still don't believe was God, then there's hardly anything to compete with!"

Satan just laughed. "Indeed, he would have you think that. But he remains active just enough to give me a hard time in snaring all the wayward souls I can in this sad little universe...Either way, I can't have this newcomer coming into the picture and destroying everything I have gained thus far. IT has to be eradicated immediately. I won't stand for the insolence it has displayed."

"What'd you have in mind, then?"

"Unfortunately, until I can figure out what IT's game is, I have no plans. I would have suggested not feeding IT to see what it would do, but you did that already and nothing very profitable came of it...Besides, April has made a deal with IT. She has agreed to serve IT as long as her friends and family remain protected from harm. We just might have to do harm to one of the family members she loves most to break that promise IT made to see what would happen. If my guess is correct, she would be freed from her enslavement to IT and we might be able to catch it before it moves on to some other unsuspecting soul..."

Satan turned and met Xin's eyes. He smirked. "I see you have already brought the family she loves most. Little girl, would you mind having a shin or two broken for the sake of your sister? Maybe a punctured lung?"

Xin's face paled. "Wh-WHAT...?"

"Not Xin," Johnny growled. "Mary would KILL me if anything happened to her...You can hurt me, though...I'm pretty pain-oriented."

"No, I need you in order to eliminate the threat...Why don't you bring me one of the girl's parents? Preferably her mother."

"Charlotte?" Xin gasped. "You wanna hurt Charlotte...?"

"Well, to be honest, I've been trying to snag that woman's soul for a while now, but the man upstairs just won't fork her over," the Devil admitted. "What would it matter, anyway? You hate her, and April hates her, so what is the problem?"

"The problem is, even though I can't stand her, she's the only real mother I've ever known and she makes my dad happy!" Xin exclaimed. "You can't take her! It would break my dad's heart!"

"Yes, death has a knack for doing that to people, but you misunderstand, little girl. I don't mean to KILL the woman. Just wound her a little."

"...No."

"It's either you or her, Xin," Pepito spoke up.

"...Then hurt ME," she cried. "I couldn't let my dad go through that knowing that I could have stopped it."

"No way, kid. You sister would slaughter me if you got hurt," Johnny sighed.

"Well, it seems we've reached a stand-still," Satan murmured, shaking his head in aggrevation. "There is no other way of freeing April from the contract she's made. If you don't decide something soon, it could mean dire circumtances for mankind."

Xin met Johnny's eyes with a terrified gaze. "Nny, I don't want anything to happen to April...I want to help her...Please let me do this..."

"Sorry. I can't," Johnny muttered.

"Don't be so selfish! If you don't, then something bad will happen to April!" she cried, tears brimming her eyes.

"...Can't you just give her a papercut or something?" Johnny asked desperately.

"I don't think that quite classifies as the type of harm that was bore in mind when April made the deal," Satan replied. "We're talking about mortal peril here, such as a terminal disease or becoming a little grease spot like that ex-boyfriend of hers."

Johnny groaned. "Then no! I can't allow you to cause Xin that kind of physical harm."

Xin burst into tears and kicked Johnny in the shin. "You son of a bitch! My sister might die, and you won't let me save her! You son of a bitch!"

Todd embraced her to offer some comfort. "It's okay, Xin...Nny's just doing what he thinks is best for you...He's always tried to look after me, too."

"I don't NEED looked after! I need to help April!" Xin sobbed.

"Stop crying! We'll think of something else," Johnny snapped. If there was one thing he hated, it was hearing other people cry like babies when they couldn't have their way...Or rather, people crying like babies in general...

"Well, until you do, that poor girl remains ever in life-threatening peril," Satan reminded with an apathetic sigh.

Johnny just glared at him. "We could do without your sarcasm, Senor."

"Oh, yes, don't mind me, the only individual who can help you right now."

"..."

_Fuck, he's right,_ Johnny thought. _And if that's the case, then we're probably all screwed._

"I'm home!" April called, carrying a capped bucket of blood in hand. "...Nny? Xin?"

"Good riddance," Sickness muttered. "That bastard Johnny...I think I'll shave him bald again when I see him next for locking me in the car all that time."

"Would you drop it?" April sighed. "Johnny? Xin?" She searched the entire apartment, but neither of them could be found. "Damn it! I bet they ran off as soon as I left!"

"Why don't you go look for them after you feed Master?" the doll suggested, hopping down from her shoulder and landing gracefully on the floor.

"...You're right. I should give IT this blood so I can wash out the bucket..."

April stooped down on the closet floor and slowly poured the pail's contents over it. The floor soaked up the crimson substance like a sponge, followed by a loud groaning when it was all gone.

"Oh my god..." April jumped up and stood back as the floor began to twist and contort. "What the hell...?"

A figure rose out of the wood, dripping with the sacrificed blood April had gathered. It was the most hideous thing she had ever had the displeasure of laying her eyes upon. "W-What...?"

"Thanks for the snack," IT chuckled in a scratchy demonic voice. "Gave me just enough of an energy boost to get out of there...Now then, Mary dear, we have some business to attend to..."

Still soaked with blood, the beast began stepping toward April, who was paralyzed against the wall in fear.

"What are you DOING?" she shrieked as IT wrapped a slimy tentacle around her.

"Why, I'm taking a new form, of course," IT laughed. "I can't very well take control of this world in my current form. It's too bulky, too slow...It would only slow me down. But YOU, Mary...You've got such long, capable legs, and a pretty face to boot. And we all know that money and beauty are two of the three things humans love the most. With your body, I'll be able to get what I want in no time at all!"

"NO! I won't let you! You can't-!" April's words were choked off as IT tore open her chest.

"This will only be uncomfortable for a moment, but I promise you that you'll be fine," IT chuckled, crawling into the hole it had made in her torso.

The wound in April's chest closed, as if it were never there.

All faded to black before the redhead as she crashed to the floor, unconscious.

"Have a good sleep, girl," IT cackled within her. "When you wake up, the real fun will begin."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Half-Life

When April opened her eyes again, she could see nothing but darkness. There was a sickening sensation in the bowels of her stomach, the kind one gets when falling from a great distance. However, April could not tell whether she was falling or floating, as there seemed to be nothing below her that would break the plunge.

_What's happening to me...? I remember...blood..._ she thought.

And that seemed to be the only thing she recalled.

"Where am I...?" she asked aloud, her eyes darting about in the dark.

"This is Limbo," a voice said casually from behind her.

April jumped and slowly turned around. "...Limbo...?"

A tall, sinister figure hovered over her, cloaked in a familiar obsidian robe. His smile was both bright and disturbing, his sharp luminescent teeth glistening like an ominous beacon in the night. His blazing eyes were gazing intently at April, checking her over.

"You are not completely dead, are you?" he sighed.

"I'm dead...?" she asked, confused.

He shook his head. "No, not entirely. You're only half dead...What a mess, what a mess..."

"...Who are you?" April struggled to get to her feet. Walking when one feels no solid surface beneath them is not an easily managed task, but in her desperation for answers, she managed quite well.

The hooded figure spun around to face her once more, the fiery eyes flaring in irritation at her question. "Need you ask that, stupid mortal? I am Death. Could you not tell?"

"...Then I am dreaming," she murmured.

"You would like to think that, but no," Death hissed. "It seems that thing only shoved your spirit far enough out of your body to force you out of control of it. You are not entirely there anymore, and yet you are not entirely here. Look at your body, girl!"

April's eyes dropped to her hands. True to Death's words, they were translucent. She looked like a ghost.

"But...How is it possible...? There is no life after death, is there? Right?"

"Stupid woman." Death rolled his eyes. "Of course there is a life after death. Your friend Johnny told you about that, didn't he?"

"...So that wasn't a demented dream...? It wasn't his sickness making him see things...?" April was holding back her terror, mortified by this new information.

"Yes, yes, the puking angel, people's heads exploding, Satan taking the form of a ditzy cheerleader-It's all true," Death scowled.

"But...Then why did he never mention you?" she asked.

"I am merely the transporter," he muttered. "When people die, their souls drift here. During their time in Limbo, they sleep, so they do not remember my presence. I take them to their predetermined destination, be it Heaven or Hell, and leave them there to be welcomed. They usually do not awaken until I have left them behind."

"So why I am I awake now?"

"Because, you are not entirely DEAD, idiot. Were you not listening? Your soul has only been pushed HALFWAY from your body. You are still there, and yet you are not." Death was outraged. "That bastard...The creature you so foolishly harbored...The one called IT-He has seized control of your body. I can't fathom why he would want to bother with such a troublesome shell other than the fact that he has a goal that requires him to be a tangible, visible being. My guess would be that it has something to do with the Johnny boy."

"Nny...?" April gasped. "Why would IT-" she cut herself short, realizing that what she was about to ask was a rather stupid question.

"It's that boy's fault that IT was nearly killed all those years ago," Death said. "Chances are, IT wishes to repay the deed."

"Then I have to stop him!" April cried. "Can't you send the rest of me back to my body?"

"It isn't that simple. If you had been pushed out of your body completely, I would have more to work with. But, being only half dead, your soul is under a lot of stress right now. If I moved you too rashly, you could shatter into oblivion. I don't suppose you would like that, would you?"

"...Not particularly."

"An expected response."

Death sailed past April and motioned for her to follow him. "Well come along, then. Let's find a way to push the rest of you back into that body. It actually would most likely be easier to extract the rest of you, then replant you back into your shell."

"So...you mean to kill me entirely, then?" she asked.

"Yes and no. Of course I will have to put you back, so you'll only be dead for a short while."

"...You're really going to do that for me? But isn't it your job to claim souls...?"

"Haven't you ever heard of occasions when people are sent back from the dead? That is because, for whatever reason, it was not their time to die. I cannot claim a soul that has not yet filled out its earthly time, and therefore, I must return those souls to where they belong. But don't worry, they all come back to me in time." There was a twisted humor integrated into Death's voice as he spoke.

"So that's why Nny was sent back...?"

"Precisely."

"And me?"

"You have time left yourself, as I have already stated. Do you have some kind of hearing problem?"

April glared at Death, annoyed with his brash attitude. "...Anyway, if you plan on taking my entire soul from my body, then what will happen if you can't put it back?"

"I've never had such a problem before. I'll admit, in most possessions, this sort of thing does not typically happen," Death admitted. "However, this creature we're dealing with is something different altogether from your everyday demon. It's much more powerful."

"You didn't really answer my question." She folded her arms, looking annoyed. "What will happen if you can't put me back in my body?"

"...Well, I suppose you'll just have to float around here in Limbo until the higher-ups decide what to do with you. Your life hasn't been fulfilled, so it would be unfair to send you to Heaven or Hell right now. Of course, I'm certain that won't stop Senor Satan from trying to get his bony little claws on you."

"...Senor Satan?" April cocked an eyebrow at Death, skeptical of the title.

"I'm sure you've heard of him. He goes by many titles, but that one is his favorite. You know, Baal, Beelzebub, the Devil?"

"I'm not an idiot. I know who you're talking about." She rolled her eyes.

"I digress," Death said, waving a bony hand dismissively. "Now, then, back to the matter at hand..."

"Getting me back into my body," April stated.

"Yes, yes..."

"Got any ideas?"

"At the moment, not quite. But I am thinking."

Death was pacing in thought. "It IS a delicate matter...You humans have the most fragile souls, after all. One little mistake and you could be lost to oblivion."

"Ah. No pressure." April seated herself on the ground (actually, she just wound up floating where she tried to settle). "Meanwhile that FREAK is running about in the real world with MY body, doing God knows what with only God knows who."

"Would you please stop saying that?" Death snapped. "If you only knew how little attention God paid to anything that isn't covered in some sort of chocolate or cheese coating or embellished with cushioning on which he can nap."

The redhead groaned quietly and allowed herself to fall onto her back. _It's going to be a long night, isn't it?_

"Where IS the little darling anyway, Mr. C.?" Senor Satan spoke up after a moment.

Johnny stiffened a little. "...She left home to collect blood for IT."

"And you just LET her?"

"The fuck was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, never mind!" Satan scowled at him. "...I believe our first move would be finding the girl. I think I might be in the process of creating a plan, however insane it may be..."

"You are...?" Xin's face lit up. "Let's hear it, let's hear it!"

"Please calm yourself, I cannot even hear my own internal voice with the incessant racket." The Devil massaged his temples, as though Xin's outburst had literally caused him a headache. "If we can find the girl and keep her away from the creature, we may be able to take it on...Of course, any sort of action against IT is going to require a means of sealing it up."

Satan turned to Todd and Shmee. "That is where the two of you will come in. Your friend here has a special knack for hoarding up nasty things, I hear."

Todd's face paled. "...You mean...put IT inside of Shmee...? But...!"

"Little boy, do you want the world to come to an end or don't you?"

"Of course not! But...Shmee is my friend..."

"And don't I get a say in this?" Shmee growled. "You're not sticking that putrid living shit inside of ME, no sir!"

Johnny jumped to his feet then and stormed across the room. He snatched the bear from Todd and pinned it to the wall. "LISTEN, you shit-for-brains hunk of cotton waste, if you're the only shot we have at fixing this, then you'll do it and be damn happy for the opportunity! Mary's life depends on whether or not you participate in this little shenanigan, so you're going to do it or I'll carve out your stuffing piece by piece and SET IT ON FIRE."

The two squared off, glaring at one another (which, if not for the current circumstances, would have looked quite funny since one of them was a grown man and the other a child's plaything), until Senor Satan intervened once again.

"That is more than enough," the Devil sighed, pushing them apart. "You, my short-stuffed friend, have no choice in this, I'm afraid." He glanced down at Shmee. "You'll understand if I don't find your plight at all disheartening. The Earth is MY kingdom, and I shall see to it that it remains such. If I can use you, then I shall, and that is the end of that."

"Oh, come off it, you just think you're so high and mighty because you're the big bad Devil," the bear snarled.

"Do you think that spouting off to me is going to earn you my respect?" Satan reached down and snatched Shmee up, his bony hand clutching the toy's throat. "I AM this world's god, little wretch. None can defy me, save for that obese hunk of so called 'divinity' that lurks in the upper world. If I say you will help me, then you will do it and you will do it without complaint. Otherwise I'll let Mr. C. have at you and give your spirit to the hellspawn in the afterlife to chew upon! Have I made myself clear?"

Shmee just made a wheezing noise as a response, which the Devil took as an agreement and allowed the former to drop to the floor.

"Now then," he sighed, as if he had just eliminated a serious problem, "to find the woman. You said she left to find food for the abomination?" He looked to Johnny, who nodded.

"She ought to be back home soon, if she isn't already," Johnny said.

"Excellent. We'll head to her residence, then, and you and the little girl will greet her. You'll have to get her outside and well out of the creature's range. Pepito and I will step in with the bear and seal IT."

Satan headed to the door with his resolve, taking upon a human form to avoid looking so obviously conspicious. The others hesitantly followed after him.

Xin walked at Johnny's side, her gaze following her feet as they trudged along. "April's okay, right, Nny?" she asked softly.

"..." He sighed quietly. "Sure, kid. She's probably fine..."

"Do you mean that? Or are you saying it so I'll be quiet?"

"...I don't even know anymore."

They spent the remainder of the journey in silence until they reached the apartment complex in which April lived.

"You two first," Satan directed to Johnny and Xin. "Remember the plan. Get the girl out and far away from IT."

Johnny nodded, then took Xin by the arm and headed up to April's apartment.

To their surprise, the door was unlocked, suggesting that April was already home. Johnny looked to Xin, using facial expressions to instruct her to remain quiet and to stay close to him.

The girl nodded and did as she was told, following Johnny into the apartment.

All was silent as they entered. The air was crisp and somehow bitterly cold, despite the fair weather outside.

"..." Johnny pushed Xin further behind him, instantly sensing something was wrong. "Stay here," he whispered to her before advancing further inside.

Xin opened her mouth to protest, only to close it again upon Johnny giving her a deathly glare that demanded her obedience. She sighed and hung her head in defeat.

Johnny ventured to the bedroom and pushed open the door cautiously.

"-SHIT!" he cried out in surprise when he saw something move from the corner of the room.

The dark figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself to be April. She was covered from head to foot in blood (quite literally), making it difficult to make out where the bloodstains ended and her matching hair began on her body. Her blouse was ripped wide open, exposing a large, hideous scar on her chest. More blood was pooled at her feet, trailing all the way back to the closet where IT had been residing.

"Mary...?" Johnny murmured, eying her form warily.

A twisted smile curled up the corners of April's lips, revealing a set of bloodied teeth. "Hello, Johnny," she said, her voice raspy and cracked as though it hadn't been used for ages. "Where have you been? I was so worried..."

"Christ, Mary, what the hell happened to you?" he demanded, his wide eyes looking her up and down. "You look like fucking Carrie!"

"Oh, you know...I guess I took too long to feed IT," she said with a shrug. "But I have been wondering where you disappeared to, Nny..."

Her arms reached out to him, beckoning that he embrace her. "Come on, Nny. Aren't you going to let me welcome you home? I've missed you so much, after all."

"..." Johnny raised a curious eyebrow at her, staring her straight in the eyes, before slowly making his way toward her.

He didn't see as her smiled widened as he allowed her to fold her arms around him. He didn't notice her nails growing, sharpening as they embraced.

If only he could hear IT's maniacal laughter from within April's body...


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Know Your Enemy**

April stood before Death, no longer the ghostly form she had appeared to him as before. "I have to say, I really didn't think that was going to work."

Death scowled at her. "You doubted my power, you mean? Idiot human..."

"Hey, you said yourself it was lucky that I didn't shatter when you (literally) yanked the rest of me out of there. And let's be honest, you weren't exactly what one would describe as gentle."

"It isn't in Death's nature to be 'gentle'," he grumbled. "Meanwhile, your little boyfriend seems to have gotten himself into quite the conundrum down there."

"...!" April's heart trembled at the memory of seeing her possessed body embracing Johnny, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "...You think you can get me back there before IT really hurts him?"

"Well..." Death crossed his arms pensively. "A reverse Reaping usually is no problem when a body is left unoccupied, but with that thing inside of yours, it will certainly be a challenge. If I manage to slip you back inside, the two of you are going to be in one hell of a fight. You'll be going at it with the abomination on your own. Do you think you can handle that?"

April nodded assertively. "I'll do anything if it means protecting Nny and Xin."

"...Your funeral. This may sting a bit, kid, so brace yourself." Death raised his scythe above April's head.

She cringed as she felt the blade pierce into her and was suddenly engulfed in a bright white light. A shooting pain seared its way down her body, starting at her head and crawled down until it reached the very tips of her toes.

A gasp tore from April's lips when the sensation was cut short, the light fading until she was shrouded in darkness once again.

A loud growl echoed out in the shadows. April didn't need to ask herself what it was or where it had come from-She instantly recognized it as IT's disgusted reaction upon realizing her return. The darkness they both stood in was within that of April's mind.

It was then that April opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her made her stomach knot.

A bloodcurdling scream filled her ears.

April then realized that the scream was her own.

* * *

><p>"They've been in there a long time, Father," Pepito said quietly as he waited outside alongside Senor Satan and the rest of the group for Johnny and Xin to emerge from the complex with April in hand. "The air is strange up there."<p>

"Patience, son," Satan murmured. "We will wait for a few more moments before making a move of our own. Remember the plan."

Todd looked to Dib, clutching Shmee in his arms. "Do you think they're okay...?"

"..." Dib simply shrugged. "Hard to say...I'm with Pepito, though. I don't like the feeling I have in my gut."

Todd gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat. "...Then-?"

"Contact the girl," Satan interrupted the youngest of the group, his stare fixed upon Dib.

"Uh...Right..." Dib withdrew his phone from his pocket and sent a text to Xin, asking her what was taking so long.

After about fifteen minutes, he still hadn't received an answer. He glanced up at the Devil. "Well? Convinced they're not okay yet?"

"Hmmm..." Senor Satan looked pensive before allowing himself a sigh. "Something must be wrong."

He turned to Todd. "The bear, boy. Hand it over."

"Wh-What about what we agreed on...?" Todd squeaked, clinging to Shmee.

"Change of plans. The bear. NOW," the Devil ordered harshly.

With a small whimper, Todd reluctantly offered Shmee up to Satan, who snatched the bear away from the boy within a split second.

"Father?" Pepito looked up at Satan, the tiniest hint of worry crossing his face.

"You will remain here, my son," Senor Satan muttered before advancing to the entrance of the apartment complex.

"What should the rest of us do, then?" Dib asked.

Satan stopped abruptly in his tracks before glancing at them over his shoulder. "If you lot are needed, I shall be sure to let you know. But should the situation become too intense or the odds shift out of our favor, you are to leave the vicinity. I'll be holding you responsible for the safety of my heir, big-headed human."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the building, the large revolving door spinning behind him.

"Father-" Pepito started after him, but Dib held him back.

"Let him go, Pepito," Dib murmured. "...And when he comes back,_ PLEASE_ tell him that my head is_ NOT_ big."

* * *

><p>April backed against the wall, shoving Johnny away from her. She stared at her deformed hands, her clawed fingers now beginning to retract into their normal shape. "WHAT THE HELL?"<p>

Johnny gaped at her, eyes wide. "Mary...What the fuck...?"

April turned her sights to him. She backed away slowly until she caught sight of herself in the mirror on the other side of the room.

"Jesus..." she muttered, her shock increasing especially upon seeing the scar centered in her chest.

"Mary." Johnny stepped closer toward her.

_"Don't come near me!_" she screamed, jumping back from him. She staggered on her feet and stumbled into the room.

The bile in her stomach was churning, causing her to retch up a viscous black mess onto the floor.

"April?" Xin cried upon entering the room. She started forward to help her sister, but Johnny held her back.

"The_ HELL_ you think you're doing, little woman?" a scratchy, demonic voice suddenly boomed from April's own lips.

The redhead cried out in anguish as she felt a searing pain flare up inside her. "L-Leave me alone...!" she choked, spewing forth more of the oily substance.

"Mary-"

"Johnny, don't come near me," she gasped between moments when she wasn't coughing up black bile. "He...IT...It's in me...He'll kill you..."

"The FUCK?"

"Get out of here...Take Xin with you-"

As April's words were choked off by more black slime, Senor Satan burst into the room, Shmee in hand.

"Dear, dear, this is much worse than I anticipated..." he sighed, shaking his head. "Sad, really."

He glanced at Johnny and Xin from the corner of his eye. "Mr. C., you and the child had best join the others outside. I'll be taking this matter into my own hands now."

"Like hell I'll just leave her," Johnny growled.

"Then at least make the girl leave," the Devil snapped. "This is no place for a child right now. Get her out before things get too out of hand, because I will NOT make any special effort and comprimise my plans for a mere human's safety."

Johnny looked to Xin, who stared back at him with defiant eyes. "You have to leave."

"I won't!" she refused, shaking her head vigorously.

"Xin, if you don't go, I swear I'll kill you myself." Johnny glared at her, his inner killer finally revealing itself for the first time since he couldn't remember when.

"..." Xin squeaked when she realized he was serious. "But...April..."

"She's going to be fine, but not if you don't scram so we can save her."

Xin sniffled, tears brimming her eyes as she stole one last look at her mess of a stepsister before running out of the apartment.

"Now, then..." Satan began to advance toward April's limp form.

She jerked up suddenly, moving from the floor to her feet with abnormal speed.

"You keep away from me, little demon," IT's voice growled.

The Devil just smirked. "What? Don't tell me you're afraid of a harmless little teddy bear."

"You keep that fucking THING away from me! You hear?**_ FUCKING BACK OFF, OLD MAN_**."

Senor Satan laughed. "So, maybe there IS some chance of getting you out of there, hm?"

"The bitch is **MINE**," IT snarled. "You kill me, you kill her. Get the picture?"

"Hmmm...Well, if that is true, it's rather unfortunate," Satan sighed. "You see, I couldn't care less whether the girl lives or dies. YOU are my problem at the moment, filthy abomination. I can't have something like you running about and terrorizing my beloved little world. There's only room for one Prince of Darkness around here, and that would be me."

He held out Shmee. "Go on, little bear, extract the miscreant and send him back to where he belongs."

"You're kidding, right?" the bear scoffed. "I couldn't hold something that powerful if I had a thousand times the strength I've got now. You're screwed, pal."

"If that were true, then why does the beast cower?" Satan retorted.

"Beats the hell out of me, but there ain't no way that thing is gonna come outta her anytime soon. You're all fucked."

"Instead of sitting there backtalking to me, how about you actually ATTEMPT to carry out your duty?" Satan snapped, thrusting the toy at IT.

"YOU BASTARD!" Shmee cried as he collided into April's face. He gripped her (literally) bloody red hair and held fast as he attempted to drain IT from April's body and into his own.

"Ho, no you don't!"

Sickness sprang forth from nowhere, securing herself onto Shmee's back with a knife in hand. "Unhand the master!" she commanded, thrusting the blade into the stitching that connected Shmee's head to the rest of his body.

The bear swore loudly as he felt his thread being severed, his torso now barely hanging onto his neck.

A twisted smile curled upon Sickness' mouth as she sliced the final thread, sending Shmee's body to the floor and his head along with it.

"You fucking happy?" Shmee snarled up at Satan. "Do you know what a pain it is to get stitched together after being ripped apart a hundred times?"

"Silence," the Devil muttered, now squaring off with IT.

"You've lost, old man," IT snickered, his chilling voice echoing throughout April's bedroom. "Give it up. I'm going to kill Johnny, and then I'll come for YOU. This world and all the wayward scum in it are going to be mine."

"Maybe when Hell freezes over," Satan asserted, his eyes narrowing at IT.

"I could arrange that if you wish," IT laughed before ducking around the Devil and making a break for Johnny.

Before he was even aware of what was happening, Johnny found himself pinned to the wall, IT once again having April's sharpened fingers jutting against his pulsing throat.

"I've waited for this moment for years, Nny," IT breathed. "A human form of my own, the world and all its misery in the palm of my hand...but you just had to get wise and delay my plans a little further. We would have been a brilliant team, you and I. But I suppose fate thought otherwise and brought dear little Mary into our lives for a special reason. For you, to gain some fleeting moments of solace, and for me, to achieve my goals. Funny how shit lines up, isn't it? Seeing as I get to use the little whore to kill you and all."

Johnny only stared back into IT's eyes, searching, hoping to find some remnant of April's consciousness within them. He couldn't find anything of the sort.

"...Where IS Mary?" he asked, his temper rapidly rising.

"Where?" IT's grin widened just a little more. "Why, with me, of course. She's right next to me, watching this whole fucking thing. Isn't that wonderful? She'll be with you in your final moments. Don't you love that?"

"May I speak to her?" Johnny requested, his voice dangerously quiet.

"Mmm...I suppose it couldn't hurt anything...But I still have control of the rest of her body and can hear everything you say, so if you're thinking of pulling some ridiculous last move out of your ass, you can forget it."

"I just want to speak with her," he repeated.

IT scowled at him before his eyes closed. When they opened again, they were no longer the glazed white marbles they had appeared to be before. Johnny realized her was speaking to April now, and he breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"Mary...How are you holding up?"

"Oh...You know...I've been better..." she answered with a hollow laugh.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Like hell. And I don't mean that in a figurative sense." April dropped her gaze to her feet. "I'm sorry, Nny...I thought if I did this, I could protect you...That was stupid, huh?"

"...Incredibly stupid," he agreed, nodding his head.

She laughed again, a little lighter than before. "Yeah...I wonder what happened to me. I didn't use to be that moronic."

Johnny shrugged. "People change. That's really all there is to it. Right...?"

"No...People care...People...People let stupid emotions guide them into doing stupider things..." April's stare grew more somber.

"...There's that, too," Johnny murmured.

"...You know there's only one way out of this, right?" she asked, lifting her gaze until it met his.

His face paled a little more than it already was. "...Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"You can do it, right?"

"And ruin all those months in therapy?"

"Come on, Nny. We both know that as soon as this is over, you'll start killing again anyway."

"You're probably right about that."

They both fell into silence, at a complete loss for words.

"So...this really is the last time we'll talk, huh?" Johnny asked after a few moments.

April winced and looked away from him. "Yeah. Guess it is." She returned her sight to him again. "Just make it fast. Promise?"

"Of course..." Johnny slowly began to withdraw the knife he had brought along with him for protection.

April smiled at him. "Thanks, Nny-"

Her words faded into IT's raging howl, her eyes glazing over once again as the creature seized control of her body again.

"_**THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU, LITTLE MAN? PULL A BLADE ON ME, WILL YOU?**_" IT shrieked, raising a claw to Johnny's throat. "_**YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD, NNY. FUCKING DEAD**_-!"

IT gagged upon feeling something sharp enter April's back. It poked through her torso, piercing the scar that IT had already made on her when it had possessed her body and tearing through her heart.

Time seemed to slow down after that instance, IT's screams ringing in Johnny's ears as April's body toppled to the floor at his feet. A mixture of the black sludge from before and April's blood leaked from the wound, squishing out in weaker and weaker streams as the girl's heart gave out.

Johnny looked up to see Senor Satan towering above April's limp form as well, his own index finger stretched out and sharpened to resemble a macabre sword of sorts.

"Such a shame," the Devil muttered, though his voice was lacking in any true remorse as he retracted his finger and lifted Shmee's head and body from the floor.

With a wave of his hand, the bear was whole once again, and Satan sprawled him out over April. "Absorb it now, bear, before the creature arises once again."

Understanding that it was well within his power to do so now, Shmee set to work on taking in what remained of IT's presence inside of April's body, sucking up the dark substance that had mixed itself with her blood.

"MASTER!" Sickness shrieked, rushing forward to assist IT, only to be plucked up from the floor by Satan.

"Ugly little insect, this thing," the Devil sneered with disdain as he crushed the doll's head in the palm of his hand.

Shmee finished his duty, rolling off of April and onto the floor, bulging at the seams from the meal he'd just consumed.

Johnny knelt at April's side the instant the bear finished and placed his fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse.

After several minutes of waiting, he released a distraught breath and stepped back.

There was no doubting it. April Black was dead.


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The sun shone brightly in the sky, baring down on the black-clad horde of people who sat clustered in the middle of the local cemetary. Birds could be heard singing cheery tunes from the trees, the flowers on the other gravesites were in full bloom, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

Xin started down at her feet in disgust. _Shit day for a funeral,_ she thought bitterly.

The minister posted next to April's ebony coffin continued to drone on and on about God and Heaven and other Biblical things, but Xin had long tuned him out to ponder her own musings in her mind.

God. Johnny had said that he was a real cunt. A "fat, Buddha-like troll," as a matter of fact, and of course Senor Satan had only confirmed it to be so. Johnny had also described Heaven as a real trash heap, and Xin wondered why no one had ever bothered to inform the ignorant rambling fuck before the group about it.

She glanced over at Charlotte and Sean in the corner of her eye, both of whom were in tears. Charlotte had buried her face into her husbands shoulder, sobbing uncontrolably, despite the lack of sound she omitted.

Xin continued to look around for more familiar faces in the crowd. Dib was seated with Gaz and Professor Membrane a ways from her and her own family.

Next to Dib was Todd, who had had to hitch a ride with the former to even attend the funeral at all. Being the emotional ball of mush that he was, Todd was fighting tears just as much as Xin was, cuddling Shmee in his arms for comfort.

Pepito had shown up as well with his mother, seated quietly behind the Membrane family. Senor Satan had not bothered to accompany them (under the guise of having to work, no doubt). Not that Xin ever expected to see him there anyway. After all, why would the Devil take the time to attend an insignificant human affair?

Even the late Nicholas Leer's parents were there, mourning for April like the rest of the attendants, despite the fact that they hardly belonged there.

Xin's eyes continued to skim through the crowd, but she couldn't spot the one person she had hoped to see. She sighed quietly. It was probably extremely stupid of her to expect that an escaped, convicted serial killer would be attending a funeral in broad daylight. Still, she wondered if Johnny might be there incognito, or watching from a distance. She could only hope...

The minister was still drawling about Heaven, and how he was certain that April was watching them all from above on a fluffy little cloud of sorts, angel costume and all.

The mental image of April dressed in something so contrary to her personality in life was revolting to Xin. She shuddered at the thought, but even so, it was a comforting thing to think on compared to wondering if April was in Hell instead.

She looked to Pepito, wondering if he could read her thoughts and answer the question in mind.

He met her gaze and simply shook his head, and Xin allowed herself a soft sigh of relief. April was not in Hell, that was such a comfort.

Pepito shook his head again, though, as if to shatter her short-lived peace. Xin stared at him in bewilderment, asking him where her sister was, exactly.

The Antichrist merely shrugged, which gave Xin a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. If April wasn't in Hell or in Heaven, where the fuck WAS she...?

The question continued to torment Xin even after the minister's sermon ended and April's coffin was lowered into the ground. She stood hovering over the hole in wonder, knowing all too well that her sister's dead body was most definitely resting within, as they had had an open-casket service.

"Xin? It's time to go," Sean said quietly, breaking her thoughts as he laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"...You go ahead," she whispered, watching as the earth was being replaced on April's grave. "I...I want to talk to her..."

Sean said nothing in response, but he hugged Xin tightly before turning to leave. "Come home before dark. Okay?"

Xin merely nodded and watched him walk away, waiting to be completely alone with the grave. She knelt before it, tears brimming her eyes as she gazed at the headstone.

"April...You fuckin' idiot...Leaving your baby sis like this...It's not fair..."

Suddenly, a shadow stretched out from behind her, causing her to jump. She turned slowly to see Johnny towering above her and the grave.

"Oh...Hey," he said, shifting awardly on his feet. "I thought everyone would have left by now."

"Just me," she murmured. "...I'm glad you came. I was beginning to think you wouldn't."

Johnny shrugged and took a quiet sip from the Brain Freezy he held in hand. His bulging black eyes stared at the grave. "...It was a nice service, huh?"

"Not really. She's probably sick to her stomach if she was watching," Xin said bitterly.

Johnny laughed a little. "Yeah. Mary never did like things like this, did she?" He looked around, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the cemetary. "...Shit day for a funeral, wasn't it?"

Xin twitched, somehow disturbed that he had managed to echo her previous thoughts. "You're telling me," she muttered.

Johnny crouched in front of the tombstone as well, staring hard at the polished stone. "...You know, it's weird. I always thought I would be the one to kill her."

Xin gasped and stared at him in horror. "Why the hell would you want to do THAT?"

"Not want to," he said, shaking his head. "But I thought I would be the one to do it simply because of...personal reasons."

"...You two really did have a thing, right?" she asked quietly. "I could tell she cared a lot about you."

"Trust me, kid, the kind of thing you're thinking about never happened between Mary and me," Johnny replied, screwing his face up into a disgusted expression. "I had no desire for it, and neither did she. We didn't want to taint one another that way, not that we weren't already tainted enough..."

"I see..."

They both fell into silence, listening to the wind blow gently past them. The sun was beginning to set, the air was growing more chilly with the onset of dusk.

Finally, Xin spoke up once again. "...I promised Dad I'd be home before dark...I should go."

"Yeah, I'd better get going, too," Johnny remarked, stretching his arms. "Can't hang out here forever, not with the cops and all looking for me. Not that I think I'll be found." He stood up.

Xin sighed quietly. "...Pepito told me that April's not in Hell...But he also said she's not in Heaven...Where else could she be, Nny?"

Johnny shrugged again. "Who knows? I bet wherever she is, Mary's enjoying herself, if that's the case."

When he saw his response didn't seem to comfort Xin, he sighed. "Hey...Why don't you call your folks and tell them you'll be a little late? I'm gonna buy you a Brain Freezy."

A weak smile turned up on Xin's lips. "...Okay."

The two of them turned and started on their way, leaving the gravesite alone behind them.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the dark nothingness of Limbo, April's soul floated unconsciously through the void in blissful slumber. She was completely unaware of her surroundings, not even within the realization that she was dead.<p>

Death's malicious laughter could be heard echoing through the abyss as he hovered over her, scythe in hand.

"Was it too cruel of me to leave out the tiny detail that you had only a few remaining moments in your lifespan when I sent you back, Miss Mary?" he chuckled as he raised the tool over her head.

"But then again, I told you...They all return to me in time."


End file.
